UNC Cochlear Implant Research

08/22/2026

Dr. Scharf’s interview on referral guidelines & the new candidacy criteria for pediatric cochlear implantation is available today! 🦻🏽

The FDA minimum age for cochlear implantation dropped to 7 months in 2025, and new CI 3-60 referral guidelines from CI-PATH now give audiologists clear criteria for when to refer children — a UNC researcher explains what these changes mean for pediatric hearing healthcare.

08/21/2026

: Colleagues across several institutions, including UNC, found that MED-EL cochlear implant systems were a safe and effective treatment for younger children with specific audiometric profiles, supporting the expansion of candidacy criteria. 👂🏾

📄 Read more here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lary.70840

08/17/2026

Congratulations to Madison Broome (UNC CI Lab graduate research assistant and UNC Department of Health Sciences AuD student) on receiving the AAA Jerry Northern Scholarship in Pediatric Audiology! Madison was selected for this prestigious award based on her excellent academic record, outstanding recommendation, and professional aspirations. 🦻🏾🐏

08/14/2026

Thank you to all of our participants who give their time, energy, and effort contributing to cochlear implant science! 🦻🏾🩵

08/07/2026

We sat down for a little Q&A session with our graduate research extern, Gigi! Swipe to hear more about her experiences and goals. 🦻🏼👂🏾

08/06/2026

New article reviewing the changes to cochlear implant candidacy criteria for children! 🦻🏼

For nearly 30 years, the candidacy criteria for adults have expanded substantially, including for those with more acoustic hearing and better speech recognition, while candidacy criteria for children remained stagnant despite major advances in our understanding of auditory development, neuroplasticity, and the importance of early intervention. Read more in this August feature article.

https://ow.ly/JrES50Zx2l8

08/05/2026

Functional hearing preservation is achievable in a substantial proportion of pediatric recipients, though is influenced by electrode length and presence of enlarged vestibular aqueduct. https://ow.ly/6ROX50Zvx8K

08/03/2026

: Scharf and colleagues reviewed expansions to pediatric cochlear implant candidacy criteria in the most recent issue of The Hearing Journal. 👂🏾🦻🏼

📄 Check out the full article here: https://www.ovid.com/jnls/thehearingjournal/fulltext/10.1097/01.hj.0001248792.86348.f4~new-cochlear-implant-candidacy-criteria-for-children

07/28/2026

: Drs. Lee, Dillon, and Brown reviewed the current evidence for anatomy-based fitting (ABF), suggesting that ABF maps yield better speech understanding and sound quality than default programming. 🦻🏿👂🏽

📄 Read more here: https://www.ovid.com/jnls/co-otolaryngology/fulltext/10.1097/moo.0000000000001146~anatomy-based-fitting-for-cochlear-implant-recipients

07/24/2026

Working in cochlear implantation research looks like… celebrating representation of cochlear implant recipients! 🦻🏼🦻🏾