Cochlear implants raise meningitis risk, FDA says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Children with an early version of the cochlear implant face an increased risk of bacterial meningitis beyond just the first two years following implantation of the hearing devices, the Food and Drug Administration warned Monday.

The increased risk means the young implant patients should be monitored as long as the electronic devices are in place for signs of the sometime fatal infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Deaf children fitted with the implants and a positioner get bacterial meningitis more often than either children with the implants that don't have the small rubber wedge or those without implants at all, the FDA said in separate letters to patients and doctors.