Audiologists give toddler the gift of hearing during COVID-19 lockdown

An 18-month-old girl has heard sound for the first time after audiologists at the University of Southampton completed what may be the UK’s first remote switch-on of a cochlear implant.

Patients are currently unable to visit the University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service (USAIS) clinic during COVID-19 emergency measures, so experts devised a method to conduct tests with Margarida Cibrao-Roque from Surrey over the internet.

Through this technical creativity, the team aim to conduct several more home switch-ons over the coming weeks.

When an implant is first switched on, levels of electrical stimulation are set by starting very slowly and gradually building up, monitoring the child or adult’s reactions all the time.

Professor Helen Cullington , of USAIS and the University’s Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, led Margarida’s switch-on from her home. She linked remotely to Margarida’s parents’ home using specialist software and hardware, monitoring progress via video link.

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