New cochlear implant trial could significantly improve quality of life for deaf adults

A major new UK-wide clinical trial into hearing loss led by the University of Cambridge, involving researchers from the University of Birmingham, will explore the opportunity for bilateral cochlear implants to improve the hearing, wellbeing, and quality of life of profoundly deaf adults.

Each year, more than 1,000 adults in the UK receive cochlear implants to restore hearing. Current NHS guidance typically supports implantation in one ear only, despite growing evidence that two implants can offer substantial additional benefits. Now, new research suggests that this may also be cost effective too.

Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the LUCIA trial will recruit over 250 adults who have acquired profound hearing loss later in life across 14 NHS hospitals. Participants will receive either one (unilateral) or two (bilateral) cochlear implants, and will be monitored 12 months post-surgery to assess the outcomes. The study will also evaluate the economic benefits and cost of bilateral implants for the NHS.

The University of Birmingham will lead on the delivery of the trial’s qualitative work package, including in-depth interviews with participants to understand their experiences of the intervention, as well as leading a process evaluation exploring how the bilateral cochlear implant intervention is implemented across NHS cochlear implant centres.

Unlike hearing aids, which amplify sound and are effective for mild to moderate hearing loss, cochlear implants bypass damaged parts of the ear and stimulate the hearing nerve directly. The trial will focus on adults who became deaf later in life and who have not previously received an implant.

Mr Matthew Smith, co-lead of the trial and academic surgeon at the University of Cambridge, said: “We know from giving bilateral implants to children that it can have a transformative effect on their quality of life and interactions with other people. Through this study, we can offer the same opportunity to adults who have become deaf, and understand the potential added value of bilateral cochlear implants, not just in terms of hearing, but also how they enrich quality of life.”

Professor Debi Vickers, co-lead and speech and hearing scientist at the University of Cambridge who also co-leads the Devices and Advanced Therapies theme at the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre said: “Children routinely receive bilateral cochlear implants. These can provide 3-dimensional hearing, enabling them to hear more naturally than unilateral, with improved access to sound and better engagement with society. Adults tell us, and I agree, that they should be given the same hearing opportunities as children. In turn these will result in reduced social isolation, enriched communication, improved mental health, and better overall quality of life”.

Dr Sarah Hughes, Research Fellow and study co-investigator at the University of Birmingham, said: “The qualitative study within LUCIA is designed to bring lived experience into the heart of the trial, and I am delighted to be working in partnership with cochlear implant users to co‑deliver the interviews. This is genuinely collaborative research. Our shared approach means conversations will be shaped by lived experience, allowing different topics, priorities and insights to emerge — including discussions that may not arise in more traditional researcher‑led interviews. This will add depth and context to the trial findings, helping to explore how bilateral cochlear implants are experienced by recipients in relation to listening, communication, wellbeing and quality of life.”

The trial is expected to begin recruiting patients in autumn 2026.