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UOG professors helping to aide Guam's deaf community
Imagine this: what if you weren't able to hear the sounds around you? No music, no laughter and you probably couldn't even hear, say, a newscast either. Well, the University of Guam is trying to bring common technology used across the globe to our island in hopes of helping both the young and old open their ears through the development of a Guam cochlear implant center.
Richard Fe, an associate professor of special education at UOG, says hearing aids are a thing of the past in comparison to today's cochlear implants. Unlike a hearing aid that amplifies sound to make it loud enough for an impaired ear, a cochlear implant bypasses the damaged part of the ear and sends sound signals directly into the hearing nerve. "We have probably 50 to 60 deaf children in schools. Another 15 to 20 are in preschools or early intervention, so there's a large number. Plus, you're dealing with you older population. Your aunts, your uncles, your grandmother's who have all gone deaf and it's their time to get a device that's actually going to help them," he explained.
Implant technology is nothing new. In fact, Fee says the devices were first introduced in the United States mainland in the 1970s. Children were first implanted with the devices in the early 1990s. Right now if a patient on Guam needs a cochlear implant they have to travel to the mainland and receive subsequent follow up care out there, as well. "Probably 50% of all children in the U.S. who are deaf are now receiving it. If you're in Australia it's 97%, if you're in Europe it's 80%, but we've never had the option here in Guam," Fee continued.
He also said, "It's a major deal because in the past if you had a deaf child or if your grandmother went deaf and you wanted an implant you had to go to the mainland, get the surgery, but you also had to stay there and get the support services."
Now UOG professors, along with physicians and Advanced Bionics, a company who explained their new harmony bionic ear system to the public at the university earlier today, are moving full steam ahead to get Guam's cochlear implant center up and running. Advanced Bionics Asia-Pacific manager of clinical research and education Margaret Cheng told KUAM News, "When they first started we were only looking into providing someone with the sensation of sound, which is more or less for safety purposes. Since technology has moved on we are talking about speech understanding and today we are talking about our patients using cell phones and listening to music."
So just who is a candidate for a cochlear implant? Fee says the patient must have a severe to profound loss of hearing in both ears and must be evaluated to see if this type of treatment is right for them. "If everything goes according to plan fee and his colleagues hope Guam's first cochlear implant center will be open by this coming June. Until then, they're in search of potential patients.
Imagine this: what if you weren't able to hear the sounds around you? No music, no laughter and you probably couldn't even hear, say, a newscast either. Well, the University of Guam is trying to bring common technology used across the globe to our island in hopes of helping both the young and old open their ears through the development of a Guam cochlear implant center.
Richard Fe, an associate professor of special education at UOG, says hearing aids are a thing of the past in comparison to today's cochlear implants. Unlike a hearing aid that amplifies sound to make it loud enough for an impaired ear, a cochlear implant bypasses the damaged part of the ear and sends sound signals directly into the hearing nerve. "We have probably 50 to 60 deaf children in schools. Another 15 to 20 are in preschools or early intervention, so there's a large number. Plus, you're dealing with you older population. Your aunts, your uncles, your grandmother's who have all gone deaf and it's their time to get a device that's actually going to help them," he explained.
Implant technology is nothing new. In fact, Fee says the devices were first introduced in the United States mainland in the 1970s. Children were first implanted with the devices in the early 1990s. Right now if a patient on Guam needs a cochlear implant they have to travel to the mainland and receive subsequent follow up care out there, as well. "Probably 50% of all children in the U.S. who are deaf are now receiving it. If you're in Australia it's 97%, if you're in Europe it's 80%, but we've never had the option here in Guam," Fee continued.
He also said, "It's a major deal because in the past if you had a deaf child or if your grandmother went deaf and you wanted an implant you had to go to the mainland, get the surgery, but you also had to stay there and get the support services."
Now UOG professors, along with physicians and Advanced Bionics, a company who explained their new harmony bionic ear system to the public at the university earlier today, are moving full steam ahead to get Guam's cochlear implant center up and running. Advanced Bionics Asia-Pacific manager of clinical research and education Margaret Cheng told KUAM News, "When they first started we were only looking into providing someone with the sensation of sound, which is more or less for safety purposes. Since technology has moved on we are talking about speech understanding and today we are talking about our patients using cell phones and listening to music."
So just who is a candidate for a cochlear implant? Fee says the patient must have a severe to profound loss of hearing in both ears and must be evaluated to see if this type of treatment is right for them. "If everything goes according to plan fee and his colleagues hope Guam's first cochlear implant center will be open by this coming June. Until then, they're in search of potential patients.