Presbyterian Ear Institute (PEI) helps deaf and hard of-hearing adults and children develop and strengthen auditory and oral communication skills using the advanced technology of cochlear implants and/or hearing aids. The world becomes a much bigger place when deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals can participate more fully in all aspects of life.

Using advanced technology, PEI serves children and adults in the Southwest through our 6 comprehensive programs:

• Cochlear Implant Program - Adult or Pediatric
• Speech & Language Program
• School for Oral Deaf Education
• Parent-Infant Program
• Newborn Hearing Evaluations
• Audiology Services - Adult or Pediatric

PEI's ultimate goal is to help deaf and hard-ofhearing individuals realize their unlimited potential and allow them to actively participate in the hearing and speaking world.

PEI is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, not affiliated with Presbyterian Healthcare Services

Mission

Presbyterian Ear Institute exists to assist people with hearing loss to better listen and speak and integrate into mainstream society. The Institute offers hope in breaking the silence for children and adults, and provides a comprehensive approach to the early diagnosis, intervention, education and rehabilitation of deafness. In fulfilling its mission and through the programs and services offered, Presbyterian Ear Institute works daily to mitigate the lifelong effects that hearing loss has on literacy, educational achievement, and vocational opportunities.

History

Presbyterian Ear Institute (PEI), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, was founded in 1987 to establish a pediatric cochlear implant program. After participating as one of the initial trial sites in the FDA research of pediatric multi-channel cochlear implants, it became apparent that, although the cochlear implant is truly a modern medical miracle, the device is only part of the solution for teaching deaf children to talk. Recognizing as well that the children who participated in the study needed to receive appropriate habilitation services, and having been unsuccessful in convincing either the Public Schools or the State School for the Deaf to provide an oral program, oral options across the country were researched to find the best curriculum for teaching deaf children in New Mexico to use their voices as their means of communicating.

Presbyterian Ear Institute Oral School (PEIOS) was founded in 1990 as one of the first of a new generation of oral schools formed in the United States in the past twenty years. Until then, the deaf educational options in New Mexico had emphasized the use of sign language rather than spoken language.