UK HealthCare pediatric patient 1st in US to receive new cochlear implant technology

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 17, 2025) — Letisha Broadus knew her young son was having trouble hearing, but the results of a hearing assessment laid it out in stark terms.  

Her fourth grader had the “hearing of a World War II veteran,” Letisha said an ear, nose and throat physician in Louisville told her in late 2023. 

DuJuan Broadus Jr., Letisha’s son, needed to see a specialist. The options in their native Louisville wouldn’t have an open appointment for several months, so they were referred to UK HealthCare in Lexington.  

“The ball has been rolling very quickly, and UK has been very supportive and amazing along the way,” Letisha said.  

Since then, the young DuJuan has been under the care of UK HealthCare’s Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Clinic — a U.S. News & World Report top-50 nationally ranked specialty where DuJuan has received the latest in pediatric hearing care. He even got to make history this past December as the first patient in the United States to receive a FLEX 34 electrode from hearing implant leader MED-EL, recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration. 

“The department of ENT here at UK is a very special group of people,” said Nathan Cass, M.D., the UK otology and neurotology specialist who implanted the FLEX 34. “We are dedicated to giving the best to our patients, staying on the cutting edge as we both contribute to, and stay up to date with, the latest in research advances across the country and world.” 

Meet DuJuan 

The now 10-year-old DuJuan has a wide range of interests. He is involved in the robotics club at school, loves to play video games and discuss anime with his friends. He likes to paint and draw and last year he went to his first Cincinnati Reds game with his mom and dad.   

But delayed speech around age 2 was a signal for Letisha that something wasn’t right. DuJuan received speech therapy until the third grade — when he was dismissed after reaching all of his goals. A hard-working student and avid reader, DuJuan did well in school, excelling at math and reading.  

Like many boys his age, DuJuan also enjoyed his time on the baseball diamond, his father DuJuan Broadus Sr., said. But dad noticed his son giving him worried looks while he was out in the field or at bat. Then at the end of third grade, the younger DuJuan suddenly declared that he was done with baseball.  

“At the time, I attributed it to him just being nervous,” said DuJuan Sr. “But knowing what we know now, he couldn’t hear his teammates and coaches on the field. He didn’t know what was going on, and he was looking at me to direct him.” 

His fourth-grade teacher also raised concerns. DuJuan seemed to have trouble responding to direct questions, and his teacher was concerned that he couldn’t hear her.  

A renewed assessment by a speech pathologist led to a failed hearing test, further evaluation and eventually a diagnosis of hearing loss and the need for hearing aids. Continued hearing tests found that his hearing loss had worsened to the point where his hearing aids no longer provided a benefit for his right ear.  

Faced with severe-to-profound hearing loss, the family decided to pursue a cochlear implant, which led them to Cass and the audiology team at UK HealthCare’s Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic. 

What is a cochlear implant? 

The cochlea, a small snail-like structure within the ear, is key to anyone’s ability to hear. Sometimes referred to as the hearing organ, the cochlea has two fluid-filled chambers lined with tiny hairs. As part of the hearing process, sound vibrates the fluid in the cochlea and those impulses are translated into electrical signals that are carried to and interpreted by the brain. 

“In some cases when children have hearing loss, those little hair cells don’t work the way they used to or there could be something wrong with the ionic composition of those fluids, which is likely what’s happened in DuJuan’s case,” explained audiologist Ricardo Vallejo, Au.D., who along with Cass and Kendra Kendall, UK’s Cochlear Implant Program coordinator, is critical to DuJuan’s care. 

A cochlear implant involves surgically placing a small electrode within the cochlea that is able to directly stimulate the nerve fibers of the hearing nerve. According to Cass, DuJuan has a very large cochlea, among the top 5-8% of the general population — which made him a good candidate for the MED-EL FLEX 34, the longest electrode array now available on the market. 

“This larger size meant that shorter electrodes would leave him without stimulation of a portion of the inner ear, and it made him a good candidate for this new electrode which provides electrical hearing stimulation across the full length of his inner ear,” Cass said. 

A historic December surgery went smoothly, Cass said. 

“I was appreciative of the opportunity to pioneer the use of FLEX 34 technology in the U.S.,” Cass said. “I have known about this implant electrode since its development in Europe two years ago, and was able to connect recently with my Austrian colleague who helped develop it and was the first to use it in humans. This speaks to the rapidly progressing technology in otology as a whole, and the importance of global scholarship and connectivity for advancing patient care in hearing health.” 

At a January appointment, Vallejo activated DuJuan’s cochlear implant. 

“I’ve never smiled this much,” DuJuan said before exchanging his right hearing aid for the external component of his new cochlear implant. 

What’s next? 

But even after activation, the job isn’t quite done. In the weeks following activation, DuJuan’s cochlear implant will be fine-tuned through follow-up appointments and DuJuan using the implant in his everyday life. 

“Moving forward, his brain is going to quickly adapt to the stimulation that we gave him today, and it will require more and more,” Vallejo said the day of DuJuan’s activation. “We’ll take different measurements to find out where his levels need to be and typically we’ll get to a point where those things level off, and we’ll start to notice that he’s doing really well, hearing-wise.” 

In many ways, hearing opens up the world around us. Once he’s comfortable with his new cochlear implant, a range of opportunities could become available for DuJuan — like maybe picking up an old sport that he used to enjoy. 

“I’ve been letting him know, ‘This is going to open up a whole world for you all over again,’” DuJuan Sr., said. “Things that you may have lost interest in before, you may be able to find interest in again.” 

DuJuan Jr., may need to get a cochlear implant in his other ear one day, but even if that happens, the family will know where they can get help. 

“When it comes to working with pediatric cochlear implants, the most important thing is that the family is at the core of everything,” Vallejo said. “Helping DuJuan hear is one thing but supporting the whole family so that they can support him is what’s most important to me. It’s more than just hearing, it’s about maximizing his potential in the future.”