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Cochlear Implant Center Survey on Bilateral Cochlear Implants
In May through July of 2005, the Let Them Hear Foundation polled cochlear implant centers to find out the rate at which centers were performing bilateral cochlear implants.
73% of the surveyed implant centers in the United States perform bilateral cochlear implantation. The total number of estimated bilateral implantations done by the 109 centers responding to the survey was just under 1000, representing over ½ of the reported bilateral cochlear implants done world-wide as of January, 2006.
88 % of the centers who had reported doing bilateral cochlear implants reported doing more than one.
Additionally, 34 % of the centers who answered “no” to the question “Has your clinic done at least one Sequential or Simultaneous Bilateral Cochlear Implant?” reported difficulties with either private insurance, public insurance or both in obtaining coverage for bilateral implantation. Therefore, a total of 84 % of reporting centers have accepted bilateral implantation and either performed at least one of these surgeries or recommended it and attempted to perform at least one of these surgeries but were prevented from doing so by refusal of the insurers to cover the procedure financially.
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