Hearing loss can be devastating to a child's social development, and for some children, the ABI is their last viable chance to hear," said Keck School of Medicine of USC Professor Robert V. Shannon, Ph.D., an investigator for the trial and a leading scientist in the development of ABI technology since 1989. "Several of the young children who had ABIs implanted outside the United States have sought help at the USC-CHLA Center for Childhood Communication and we know that they now have the potential to understand speech. This really shows how powerful and flexible the brain is. By studying how the brain and the hearing system work together through this device, our team will set the gold standard for use of this technology.