Interesting study from Ear and Hearing of Spoken Language Outcomes in children with unilateral versus bilateral cochlear implants.
Children with bilateral CIs achieved significantly better vocabulary outcomes, and 8-year-old children with bilateral CIs had significantly better language outcomes than did children with unilateral CIs....The outcomes were also significantly predicted by a number of factors related to parenting, child characteristics, and family background.
When Lily was implanted six years ago, the big debate was one or two implants. Our sense was that she had two ears, so she should have two implants right away. There was very little research about the benefits of two implants at the time. Many families were debating about "saving one ear for future technology." I don't hear that phrase today. Two implants seem like a standard practice.
Comments