Cochlear Americas, Centennial, Colo, introduces Sound and WAY Beyond, a new, interactive listening rehabilitation program for adults and teens with cochlear implants.

The CD-ROM features self-paced modules to improve recipients’ understanding of vowels, consonants, and sentences. The program includes more than 10,000 words and sentences for adults and teens at all skill levels.  Sound and WAY Beyond permits individual results to be summarized and printed to help cochlear implant recipients hold meaningful discussions with their audiologist and therapist.

"Rehabilitation is critical for people with cochlear implants to achieve their maximum benefit, yet we know that many teens and adults are not participating in clinic rehabilitation services," says Donna Sorkin, the company’s consumer affairs VP. She says the CD-ROM should aid recipients in situations such as telephone use, music enjoyment, and understanding speech in noise.

Based on computer-assisted speech training software developed by the House Ear Institute, Sound and WAY Beyond modifies clinical therapy techniques to allow cochlear implant recipients to practice and perfect their listening skills at home.

"Recent research demonstrates that computer-assisted speech training programs may improve speech recognition for cochlear implant recipients," says Nancy Caleffe-Schenck, MEd, CCC-A, LSLS Cert AVT, director, Auditory-Verbal Services Inc. "Home activities like Sound and WAY Beyond may maximize the development of these skills in an individual with a cochlear implant."

The program is available to all cochlear implant recipients and is included in all adult Nucleus Freedom systems. The program is also offered at a reduced price for Nucleus recipients, clinicians, and educators. 

Cochlear Americas specializes in advanced hearing technologies. Since launching the multichannel cochlear implant system more than 25 years ago, Cochlear Limited and its US headquarters have brought sound to more than 150,000 hearing-impaired individuals worldwide. The company’s state-of-the-art cochlear implant technology, based on research and development at preeminent academic institutions, provides the ability to hear sound and better understand speech. The company also markets an implantable bone-anchored hearing device for treatment of conductive and mixed hearing loss and single-sided deafness.

[Source: Cochlear Americas]