Several hearing specialists from the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at WashU Medicine offered their expertise and advances in research at the annual ACIA meeting on cochlear implantation in Boston, April 30-May 3.
The American Cochlear Implant Alliance (ACIA) is a non-profit organization created in 2010 with the goal to advocate for cochlear implantation by sponsoring research, improving awareness, and advocating for improved access to cochlear implants. Lindberg Professor and Chair of Otolaryngology Craig Buchman, MD, and Jill Firszt, PhD, director of WashU’s Cochlear Implant Program, are founding members of the organization.
The Alliance convenes an annual meeting for members to share advances in research, patient care, and advocacy efforts. Themes of this year’s meeting included:
- Cochlear implant candidacy and outcomes in asymmetric hearing loss
- What can be done to improve CI access to underserved pediatric and adult populations
- The future of gene therapy for children and adults with hearing loss
- Access to hearing health by children with congenital CMV
- Listening, Language, Literacy in children with hearing loss
WashU Medicine Presentations
Quality of life results for children with single-sided deafness as reported by parents in a multi-center clinical trial of cochlear implantation
Jill B. Firszt, Laura K. Holden, Noel Dwyer, Ruth M. Reeder, Tim Holden, Craig A. Buchman, the Pediatric SSD Clinical Trial Study Team
Cochlear health as a key predictor of post-implantation quality of life in cochlear implant recipients
Amit Walia
Electrocochleography Total Response Bedside Analysis Tool
Mona Jawad, Shannon Lefler, Amit Walia, Matt Wu, Jordan Varghese, Craig Buchman, Amanda Ortmann, Matthew Shew
Vocabulary intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing
Casey Reimer
Outcomes of cochlear implantation in children with single-sided deafness in a multi-center clinical trial
Jill B. Firszt, Laura K. Holden, Noel Dwyer, Ruth M. Reeder, Tim Holden, Craig A. Buchman, the Pediatric SSD Clinical Trial Study Team
Cochlear implant candidacy decision support tool using conjunctive consolidation
Shannon Lefler, William Bray, Kevin Chen, Dorina Kallogjeri, Jay F. Piccirillo, Cole Pavelchek, Mona Jawad, Amanda Ortmann, Nedim Durakovic, Pawina Jiramongkolchai, Jacques A. Herzog, Craig A. Buchman, and Matthew A. Shew
Research Audiologist Shannon Lefler, AuD, enjoyed the experience.
“The conference was wonderful,” she said. “It was awesome to see so many WashU Medicine colleagues representing all the great cochlear implant research we do here.”
WashU Medicine Director of Deaf Education Casey Reimer, PhD, appreciated the multidisciplinary aspect of the event.
“The conference was an opportunity to network and learn from professionals around the world,” she said. “The interdisciplinary culture of this organization is not only beneficial for professional growth but also for moving the field of speech and hearing sciences forward. As a deaf educator, any opportunity I have to speak with surgeons, audiologists, and speech-language pathologists about the care for children who are deaf or hard of hearing is one I don’t want to miss.”