The technology is 'close to a miracle,' a psychologist says. Can it work for little Tyler de Lara?

By Shari Roan
Los Angeles Times
Read the full story at latimes.com
Audio slide show: A miracle of sound

Tyler de Lara, 2, thrashes on a gurney, tangled in his sheet, hospital gown and IV tubing. A white bandage encircles his head and, loosened by his squirming, slips down and covers his eyes.
All that shows is a tuft of black hair and his mouth, set in an angry pout.
Dr. Akira Ishiyama notes Tyler's grimace and says he's pleased. It means there is no facial nerve damage.
Tyler was diagnosed as deaf six months earlier. Now, on an autumn morning at UCLA's outpatient surgery center -- after several misdiagnoses, battles with insurance companies and much worry and waiting -- he is drifting from a cloud of anesthesia with two cochlear implants nestled in his skull.