Sensorineural hearing loss occurs from damage to the inner ear, the place of origin of the nerve that runs from the ear to the brain.

There are 66,000 new cases every year.

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic worked on modifying the cochlear implant to save children’s hearing as early as possible.

Two-year-old Corbin Lapso is the life of the party. But there wasn’t always a party in the Lapso household. Corbin was born with bilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss, meaning he couldn’t hear anything, even with regular hearing aids.

“I remember her saying, ‘It’s lifelong and permanent and can only be reversed with hearing technology.’ And at that point, the room kind of went black,” recalled MaKaela Lapso, Corbin’s mother.

Pediatric Audiologist Samantha Anne recommended Corbin undergo bilateral implant surgery at just seven months old to restore his hearing.

“The FDA approval for implantation for infants with bilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss is nine months of age,” Dr. Anne explained. “At Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital, we strongly believe that we should get these babies to hear as early as possible, as long as it’s done in a safe manner.”

Today, Corbin is fully recovered.

“He is thriving,” Dr. Anne said. “He is doing probably more than he should be at his age.”

“For some, that was, like, the end of the journey, like, he was treated, he was ‘fixed,’ but for us. that was just the start. You know, we were finally able to see what this little guy is capable of,” Lapso said.

Dr. Anne and her colleagues discovered through their research that the risks of performing the surgery earlier rather than later were the same, but the outcome was much better.

Article originally appeared on WNDU