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  • All About Cochlear Implants

    Within the course of decades, there is a wide range of approaches supply ways for people that have hearing problems to enjoy hearing levels that were better and to manage hearing loss.  Hearing aids have been among the primary forms of assistive listening devices and they have undergone many changes and improvements thanks to high tech advancements.  One option to hearing aids for the profoundly deaf has been cochlear implant surgery, which is becoming more well-known and broadly accepted in recent decades.

    While the method to offer a patient with such implants was first introduced in the mid-1960s, the use of these implants did not become widespread until the early 1990s.  In fact, there was, and still is, some resistance to these devices from the deaf community, which really reacted with protests and deafness.

    Nowadays, the majority of resistance to cochlear implant technology is in the past and there is a higher degree of acceptance toward such implants by the tight-knit deaf community.  Among the concerns, and sources of resistance, was the worry that the culture that the deaf community loves would be jeopardized if using these implants became widespread.

    Now some years later, however, it appears the fear of extinguishing the powerful and proud culture of the profoundly deaf was mostly unfounded.  Today, such implants are no longer regarded instead of hearing.

    Cochlear implants are also frequently known as an “inner hearing aid.”  But it should be made clear that cochlear implants are not the equivalent of the hearing aid products known as hearing aids.  The main difference is the cochlear implants use electricity to directly stimulate nerves at the auditory system while the implantable hearing devices are essentially precisely the same as a typical hearing aid, just implanted “permanently.”

    Traditional hearing loss hearing aids only amplify the sounds.  Cochlear implants operate differently because they “rewire” the inner workings in this manner that it actually bypasses the hair cells which were damaged from the ear.  As a result of this approach, not everybody with hearing loss is eligible for cochlear implants.

    When the individual still has a certain degree of hearing, then they might be rejected for this procedure.  The cause of this is that the implant will ruin any natural hearing that is still working in the ear that receives the implant.

    One interesting note to find out is that even after somebody receives an implant, they’re still regarded as deaf.  In reality, they have the capability to turn their cochlear implants away and they are deaf when the implants aren’t on.

    More and deafer adults are now deciding to make the most of the benefits of a cochlear implant and parents, particularly hearing parents, are more frequently seeking out cochlear implants for their children who are born deaf or who have had an illness or accident which has left them with severe hearing loss.  The choice is one that is personal and should be undertaken in conjunction with expert advice from The Hearing Solution specialists.

    What is a cochlear implant?

    A person will have problems with hearing loss when the hair cells in the inner ear or the cochlea are badly damaged.  There are lots of explanations for why the hair cells get damaged, for example, exposure to loud sound or sound, head injury, and virus or disease.  When it’s left untreated, then it will lead to hearing impairment.

    Today, the cochlear implant has become a popular option for those who have a hearing impairment.  This implant allows the sound to move to the patient’s hearing nerves letting her or him hear.

    A cochlear implant is an electronic medical device that simplifies the function of the damaged inner ear (cochlea).  Cochlear implants bypass the damaged hair cells of the cochlea to provide sound signals to the brain.

    The implant includes an external part that sits behind the ear and a second part that’s surgically placed under your skin.

    An implant is composed of:

    A microphone, which picks up sound from the environment.


    A transmitter and receiver/stimulator, which receives signals from the speech processor and converts them to electric impulses.

    An electrode array, which will be a group of electrodes that collects the impulses from the stimulator and sends them into different areas of the auditory nerve.

    Who will get a cochlear implant?

    Both kids and adults that are deaf or severely hard-of-hearing can be candidates for implants.  According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), more than 324,200 people worldwide have received implants to date.

    You Want an implant if you:

    Have moderate to profound hearing loss in both ears

    Receive little or no benefit from hearing aids

    Score 50% or less on sentence recognition tests are done by hearing professionals in the ear to be planted 

    Score 60 percent or less on sentence recognition evaluations done by hearing professionals in the non-implanted ear or in both ears with hearing aids.

    Cochlear Implant Procedure

    The surgical process of rectal implants starts with careful analysis by ENT surgeon, anesthetist, audiologist and doctor.  A tiny incision in made at the rear of the ear and then the surgeon implants the recipient.  The receiver is linked.  The operation generally takes 1-2 hours to finish.

    Benefits of Cochlear Implants

    You develop more confidence in different social situations

    You speak at the normal hearing level

    You communicate better

    It enables the patient to hear again, therefore it’s a great help to those who are afflicted by any hearing disease. 

    Help patients to concentrate better when in noisy environments

    Reconnect with missed noises that the patient could not hear before the cochlear implant

    Chat and hear on the Telephone 

    Hear better than using a hearing aid

    Feel safer in the indoor and outside since patients can hear alerts, folks calling out and approaching vehicles

    Allow patients to have conversations with others across areas, parks, streets, restaurants, and other crowded places

    Love listening to music

    How does this function?

    Contrary to the hearing aids that amplify sounds the damaged ears could detect them, the cochlear implant operates differently.  They deliver signals to the brain, which admits that the signals and immediately stimulate the auditory nerve.  Basically, the augmentation will do the work of the cochlea – sending signals to the brain.  Hearing throughout the cochlear implant isn’t exactly the same with regular hearing.  It takes time to learn its own function, therefore patience is important to relearn hearing employing the gadget.