Severe to profound hearing loss interferes with a child's ability
to develop speech and language.

Early diagnosis and treatment is essential to optimise the benefits
to be gained from any cochlear implant system.

Children with implants attend a variety of different types of school, depending on their individual needs and the services available in their area. These may be schools for the deaf, units for hearing impaired children attached to mainstream schools or ordinary mainstream schools.

Whatever school they go to, children with a HiResolution® Bionic Ear™ System need good spoken language input if their spoken language & listening skills are to develop. With intensive aural rehabilitation (training to listen) many children born deaf and implanted at an early age are able to develop effective oral communication skills. Given support from teachers of the deaf and speech therapists, some of these children are able to attend mainstream schools with the friends that they grew up with.

However those in schools which use sign language need special spoken language sessions every day to develop and enhance their listening and spoken communication skills.