NHS Trials Double Cochlear Implants for Deaf Adults
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- Janine Roebuck, a retired mezzo-soprano who performed at London's Royal Opera House, hid inherited sensorineural hearing loss for over 30 years before receiving double cochlear implants in 2019, paying privately for her second after the NHS covered only one.
- NICE guidelines currently limit most deaf adults to a single cochlear implant, based on cost-effectiveness analysis and a stated lack of evidence for two.
- An NIHR-funded trial led by Addenbrooke's Hospital and the University of Cambridge will enrol more than 250 adults across 14 hospitals, randomly assigning participants one or two implants to compare outcomes.
- ENT surgeon Matthew Smith and Prof Debi Vickers, a Cambridge speech and hearing scientist, are leading the study; results will be submitted to NICE for review once complete.
- Roebuck said the difference is 'light years' — bilateral implants give fuller, clearer sound and let her locate noise sources in busy spaces, ending the 'debilitating concentration fatigue' she lived with daily.
- Children already routinely receive two implants on the NHS, and researchers argue adults deserve the same, citing potential gains in mental health, social engagement, and safety.
Why it matters: If the 250-plus-adult, 14-hospital trial shows bilateral implants clearly outperform single ones, NICE could revise its cost-effectiveness rules and extend the procedure to thousands of deaf adults currently offered only one — turning a treatment Roebuck had to fund privately into standard NHS care.
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