Guidelines for Rehabilitation Staff
Please click here to see our updated BCIG Professional Guidelines for Rehabilitation Staff working within a Hearing Implant Programme.
A hearing implant team usually includes Rehabilitationists. These clinicians may be qualified as either a Teacher of the Deaf (TOD), a Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) or as a Hearing Therapist (HT). They support newly implanted children and adults with these aspects:
- Establishing full time use of the external processor;
- Training/advice regarding equipment care;
- Awareness of environmental and speech sounds;
- Monitoring sound delivery through the implant, such as would promote speech and language development and communication;
Some rehabilitation teams may also provide:
- Training in use of the telephone [where appropriate];
- Advice on accessing music [where appropriate];
- Support with transition and change;
- Advice on promoting communication.
Rehabilitation support may be more intensive in the initial stages of using a hearing implant. Thereafter support is usually available on request.
The Implant Centres Teachers of the Deaf (ICTOD) have produced Guidelines for Good Practice which is available here.
Rehab webinars 2022/3
The BCIG has produced a series of training videos from 2022 webinars.
First 500 Remote Checks at NAIP
Kim Veekmans, a Clinical Scientist from the Nottingham Auditory Implant Programme, discusses how Remote Check has been used in Nottingham to support patients between face-to-face appointments.
The Oomph Factor: motivation in adult CI patients
It is evident that good outcomes following a cochlear implant (CI) are reliant on the recipient committing to the post implant programme and being able to get the necessary listening practise that will enable them to work towards their personal goals.
This webinar discusses the importance of patient motivation and whether this should be more of a factor in determining whether an individual is a suitable CI candidate. The presenters discuss how pre-implant counselling and goal setting is used to identify potential issues regarding motivation. They also present case studies including an analysis of post CI outcomes (speech perception scores and quality of life) in relation to patient motivation and whether the outcome could have been predicted prior to implantation.
Presenters: Jillian Ridgewell and Julie Carter, who are both SLTs working with adults.
The oomph factor: motivation in adult CI patients
Rehabilitation Challenges
Here’s a chance to catch up on our most recent popular BCIG rehabilitation webinar. The webinar is a panel discussion of the following questions:
- Would you advocate therapy/intervention for adults and children or do you feel one group benefits from support more than the other?
- How do CI teams develop their rehab services as the population develops and changes?
- What interventions would you recommend to families pre-implant?
In the Chair is surgeon Stephen Broomfield and the panellists are Lise Henderson, Jayne Inscoe Ramerez, Marette Ambler and Angela Cordingley ( SLT, TOD and audiology representatives).
Challenges in CI