Sue Archbold (UK)

Biography

Following a career as a teacher of the deaf, Sue Archbold managed Nottingham CI Programme from its inception in 1989 until 2004. During this time she published widely on family and educational outcomes from paediatric implantation, including cost benefit analyses. As CEO of The Ear Foundation, she led a team of research, education and services for CI users of all ages and their families. Her PhD, cum laude, from Nijmegen University was on Deaf Education: Changed by cochlear Implantation? and she was honoured with an Hon Doctor of Letters by Nottingham University for her work on cochlear implantation. Sue is now the Coordinator of the CI International Community of Action, CIICA, and on the Steering Committee of the World Hearing Forum. She remains passionate about improving access to the best possible services for all with deafness and hearing loss  across the lifespan and ensuring the user and family voice is heard.

Access, Delivery and Sustainability of Paediatric CI Programmes

The European Symposium on Paediatric CI began in 1992 in Nottingham, with 300 people from across the globe, excited to share the early stages of paediatric CI when we were just beginning to see the potential of this new technology for children. Since then, cochlear implantation in infants and children has become mainstream practice across the globe, with great accessibility for those in the first year of life, those with complex needs, and bilateral implants becoming routine. It is estimated that about 600,000 children have received cochlear implants over this time and implants in children have been shown to be highly effective. Deaf children have acquired spoken language, literacy skills on a par with their hearing peers, and are participating in mainstream education and now entering the world of work.  As the World Report on Hearing says:

“Their use in children with severe degree of hearing loss has brought substantial benefits to those implanted, and when accompanied by proper rehabilitation they lead to significant improvement in audiological status, overall functioning and speech perception skills. Children with cochlear implants have greater likelihood of acquiring oral language, integrating into regular schools and being able to experience sounds along with better speech skills.” (WRH, page 98)

CI in children has also been shown to be cost-effective (Eg Neve, 2021, WRH, 2021) across the lifespan, with young people, implanted as children, entering the world of work and beginning their own families. The children implanted today may need up to 100 years of CI use and support services.   So is all well?  Are CI services accessible, and delivering what is needed for sustainable, lifelong CI use? There is some evidence that they are not, and as the World Hearing Report says once more:

“With cochlear implants, there is limited research and data on access and factors limiting their use. ……….  their restricted accessibility to countries other than those in high-income groups – with considerable variation even within these.” (WRH, page 179)

This presentation will look at what we know of current accessibility and service delivery internationally, and what CI users, including young people in particular, find helpful to maximise the benefit of this life-changing technology. From one young person:  I’ve always heard through my cochlear – it’s all I know.”  This is a responsibility for us all.