The fascinating world of hearing
Switch on Life is a free online learning platform with videos and interactive games about hearing loss and hearing technology. You can discover the basics about acoustics, frequency, and the anatomy of the hearing process in an entertaining and exciting way. We also introduce you to the fascinating world of hearing and the technology of hearing implants. The content is in plain English.
Switch on Life consists of eight different chapters with numerous interactive activities, which we will show you one by one over the next few months. All content is based on science.
Have you seen the two previous chapters "Meet your friends" and "Spatial hearing"? Today, an international hearing expert explains the importance of bilateral hearing, especially for children born deaf, and how they can regain their binaural hearing.
Chapter 3
Bilateral hearing from the beginning!
In a video interview, Prof. Christopher Raine explains the benefits of bilateral hearing for children born deaf. He argues that according to science, implanting both ears as early as possible combined with rehabilitation and lots of training gives children the ability to localize sounds and helps them filter out background noise. Therefore, two ears are better than one.
A child's brain develops at breakneck speed. Hearing plays an important role in this process. Children need to be able to hear sounds to learn how to listen and communicate with the world around them. It is imperative that deaf children are be fitted with two cochlear implants as early as possible -- ideally at one year of age or even earlier -- so that they can recognize whether a sound is coming from the right, left, front or back. This enables them to participate in the social life of their family and friends without any problems right from the start, and nothing stands in the way of their school and university education or their success at work.
Even children who are deaf in only one ear benefit immensely from a cochlear implant, as several studies have confirmed. (By the way, if you want to get an idea of what it means to be able to hear with only one ear, have a look at the two previous chapters "Meet your friends" and "Spatial hearing".)
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