230 appendix b: cochlear implants and hearing
Cochlear implants and illness
Sometimes the cochlear implant can cause ear infections that
can make hearing worse. It is important to treat ear infections
quickly in children who have cochlear implants. It is also
important to vaccinate them against childhood illness.
The cochlear implant equipment and operation can also
cause a serious illness called
meningitis, even years later.
Meningitis is a very serious
infection of the brain and
can happen more in
children who:
• are younger than
5 years old.
• became deaf because of meningitis.
• have ear infections.
• get sick often.
For more information about meningitis, see page 201, as
well as the book Where There Is No Doctor, published by the
Hesperian Foundation.
Care and support after the operation
Young children with a cochlear implant
need extra care and help from their
families and professionals. After
children heal from the operation,
they must spend years training with
professionals to learn to hear and
to understand the sounds they
hear. The family will also need
training in how to communicate
with the child.
Say ‘apple’.
Abba.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)