Hello 

I’ve had an update from a stakeholder and NICE are now looking at AB words and removal of BKB for criteria. As BKB has been around for so long I assume this test will still be done in some form but only as a benchmark on progress and not the deciding factor on whether you can be considered for a CI. 

Stakeholders need to respond to NICE by 19th September before a meeting in October. Note they have dropped the cut off from 90dB HL to 80. 

Nice have proposed this wording .....

For the purposes of this guidance, severe to profound deafness is defined as hearing only sounds that are louder than 80 dB HL at 2 or more frequencies (at 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, 2,000 Hz, 3,000 Hz and 4,000 Hz) bilaterally without acoustic hearing aids.

Adequate benefit from acoustic hearing aids is defined for this guidance as:

·         for adults, a score of 50% or greater on the Arthur Boothroyd word test presented at 70 dBA

·         for children, speech, language and listening skills appropriate to age, developmental stage and cognitive ability.

As always I keep you informed as and when I hear anything. Hopefully we are near the final hurdle.

Many thanks

Diane