Two centres in England are to be funded to provide auditory brainstem implants, it has been announced.
Treatments will be offered to children who are aged five or under and profoundly deaf, NHS England said.
The treatment is to be offered at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London. The treatment bypasses the cochlea and auditory nerve and inserts a device directly into the brain.
Several children have already received implants, which were developed earlier this decade.
Leia Armitage was two when she became the first child in London to receive the treatment in 2013. Her family say that developing her speech has taken "a lot of rehab" but she is now able to speak full sentences.
Neurosurgeon Scott Rutherford is to lead the work in Manchester and Professor Dan Jiang will lead it in London.
Professor Jiang said: "The London Auditory Brainstem Implant service located at St Thomas’ Hospital has combined the clinical expertise from Guy’s and St Thomas’, University College London Hospital, King’s College Hospital and four hearing implant centres in London, it will provide easy access to this highly specialised service for all children with these rare conditions.”
NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: “This truly life-changing surgery, which allows youngsters to hear their parents’ voices for the first time, will now be available across England for children who are deaf who have no other options."
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