Two to three in every 1,000 children are born with a hearing loss that is likely to impact development. Research of the auditory system at its early developmental stages, and efforts to identify hearing loss and initiate appropriate rehabilitation strategies, can be crucial to the healthy development of a child.
Laurie Eisenberg, Ph.D., is a House Ear Institute investigator on two multicenter projects involved in understanding the effects of hearing loss on young children as they mature; both studies are funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The first project is a 10-year, multicenter study entitled "Childhood Development After Cochlear Implantation, (CDaCI)," in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, University of Texas at Dallas, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, and University of Miami. In this study, Dr. Eisenberg and her staff are investigating the long-term outcomes in young deaf children fitted with cochlear implants before five years of age.