Children affected with profound hearing loss have a number of options for treatment with today’s technology and one of the fastest growing trends is surgically implanting cochlear implants. A cochlear implant is a small device that combines a microphone, a speech processor, a transmitter/receiver and tiny electrodes to give a deaf person auditory queues in their environment. Cochlear implant surgery can give a profoundly deaf person a much improved level of communication with the non-deaf world.
Basically, the microphone picks up sound, the speech processor actually selects and arranges the sounds that come in and then the transmitter/receiver converts the speech into electrical impulses that are then delivered to the brain through the electrodes. Rather than amplifying sounds, like a hearing aid would, a cochlear implant is supposed to compensate for damaged parts of the ear, operating as those parts would in sending signals to the brain. The success of cochlear implant surgery depends on a variety of factors including intense speech therapy and other auditory therapy that helps the profoundly deaf or hard of hearing to interpret the “sounds.”
As of 2002, the Food and Drug Administration reported that about 60,000 people already had cochlear implants worldwide. The US made up roughly half of that number is approximately 23,000 implant-ees, 10,000 of which were children. Although the benefits can be significant, there is a risk associated with the cochlear implant surgery and with the cochlear implants themselves.
In 2003, a recall was issued on some cochlear implants that used a “positioner” as well as the other more standard equipment because it was posing a serious health risk to children. This cochlear implant controversy found, in fact, that children with cochlear implants were much more likely to develop pneumococcal meningitis than their hearing or non-cochlear implant using counterparts. In the study conducted on over 4,000 children with cochlear implants, about 30 cases of pneumococcal meningitis were reported. In a normal cross section of this number of children, one case would be typically reported.
When this was discovered, the FDA worked closely with the Centers for Disease Control to ensure that all patients were advised to get vaccinations against the disease and they worked with cochlear implant manufacturers to attempt to rectify the problem. Still, the children and adults affected by this product malfunction and failure to warn may have a claim against the manufacturer or physician who implanted the cochlear implant.
If you or a child you know was implanted with a cochlear implant and developed pneumococcal meningitis as a result of the “positioner” you may have a viable product liability case. If you received your cochlear implant or had your cochlear implant surgery after this recall and advisory was announced and you were never informed of the risk of pneumococcal meningitis and then you developed the disease, you may have a claim.
If you’ve been injured by a cochlear implant, of you know someone who has been, you should contact an experience product liability attorney, medical device defect attorney or medical malpractice attorney. They have the background and expertise to assess your situation and tell you if you have a viable claim and if you are within the statute of limitations for your case.