Cochlear Implant

Cochlear implants

Hearing aids mostly make sounds louder. Cochlear implants are different; they bypass the damaged part of the ear and stimulate the hearing nerve directly.

This enhances the clarity of sounds and improves your ability to understand speech. It can also help you to regain confidence in social situations, rejoin friends and family, and live a fuller life.

In a recent study, people with cochlear implants could understand sentences eight times better than they could previously with their hearing aids

Hearing aids mostly make sounds louder. Cochlear implants are different; they bypass the damaged part of the ear and stimulate the hearing nerve directly.

This enhances the clarity of sounds and improves your ability to understand speech. It can also help you to regain confidence in social situations, rejoin friends and family, and live a fuller life.

In a recent study, people with cochlear implants could understand sentences eight times better than they could previously with their hearing aids.

The internal part is placed under the skin behind the ear during an outpatient surgery. A thin wire and small electrodes lead to the cochlea, which is part of the inner ear. The wire sends signals to the cochlear nerve, which sends sound information to the brain to produce a hearing sensation. Although normal hearing is not restored, with appropriate therapy and practice, the improved hearing experience can mean an increased awareness of sounds in the environment, as well as better communication through easier lip reading and listening.

Why might I need cochlear implant surgery?

You, your health care provider and an audiologist may consider a cochlear implant if you are experiencing hearing loss and continue to rely heavily on lip reading. Candidates for cochlear implant surgery include individuals who:

Are experiencing hearing loss and are not helped by hearing aids.
Have hearing in both ears but with poor clarity.
Miss half or more of spoken words, without lip reading, even when wearing hearing aids.
Rely heavily on lip reading, despite wearing hearing aids

In cases of more moderate hearing loss, a partially inserted cochlear implant is used to preserve hearing so that both a hearing aid and the cochlear implant may be used simultaneously in the same ear. In more severe cases of hearing loss, however, a fully inserted cochlear implant is needed to achieve the full benefit of electrical hearing.

Is cochlear implant surgery right for me?

If you are thinking about whether to pursue a cochlear implant now or wait, it is important to know that improvements decrease the longer hearing loss continues. With a successful surgery and rehabilitation, a person may be able to:

Perceive different sounds, such as footsteps, a door closing or a phone ringing
Have hearing in both ears but with poor clarity.
Miss half or more of spoken words, without lip reading, even when wearing hearing aids.
Rely heavily on lip reading, despite wearing hearing aids