Valley Children’s Hospital. File Photo.

Valley Children’s Hospital has established the first Cochlear Implant Center in the Valley.

The center will provide children needing cochlear implants a place to visit specialists who can see them in a single location, rather than requiring parents and children to travel between centers.

Specialists in audiology, speech language pathology and otolaryngology will be on site providing assistance to children in need.

“When a family decides with a medical specialist that a cochlear implant is the best medical decision for their child, the last thing they want is to have to make multiple trips to different facilities,” said Dr. Kyle Robinette, pediatric otolaryngologist and medical doctor of Valley Children’s Cochlear Implant Center.

For children who will not benefit from the assistance of hearing aids, cochlear implants — which transmit sound information directly to the auditory nerve — may be the answer. Hearing aids assist in amplifying sounds, whereas a cochlear implant directly works with the auditory nerve to assist hearing.

The team at the Cochlear Implant Center will work carefully with families to determine children eligible for cochlear implants and create personalized strategies for best individualized outcomes.

In addition, the program was approved as a California Children’s Services (CCS) program. This CCS program is administered as a partnership between local area health departments and the California Department of Health Care Services, and ensures that children eligible for Medi-Cal will be able to access services offered through the cochlear implant program.

“By becoming a CCS program, more children who qualify for cochlear implants can benefit quickly and the stress of needing to go out of the Valley for the surgery is eliminated,” Robinette said.

With the addition of this program, children with hearing loss from around the Valley will have access to the procedures and treatment they need to improve their hearing.