What are Cochlear Implants?

Cochlear implants are tiny, intricate electronic devices that help provide a sense of sound to severely deaf individuals.

Surgically implanted under the skin behind the ear, this device is made of four basic parts:

• The microphone picks up sound from the environment
• The speech processor translates the sounds picked up by the microphone into signals
• The transmitter and receiver/stimulator receive these signals and convert them into electric impulses
• The electrodes send these impulses to the brain.

A cochlear implant gives deaf users the necessary auditory understanding of the environment and helps in understanding speech. It does not reinstate or generate normal hearing, nor does it amplify sound, like hearing aids do. Instead, a cochlear implant merely compensates for damaged or non-working parts of the inner ear. They are similar to normally functioning parts of the inner ear that convert sound waves in the air into electrical impulses. These impulses are read by the brain as sound to an unimpaired individual. Cochlear implants, similarly, find useful sounds electronically and then send them to the brain. Though hearing through an implant sounds different from normal hearing, it enables many to communicate orally in person or over the telephone.

Cochlear implants can be given to both children and adults who are hard of hearing. It has been estimated in 2002 that close to 59,000 people worldwide have received implants of which more than 10,000 are children in the US.

Adults who have lost hearing later in life can often associate the sounds made through an implant with sounds they remember. This helps them understand speech without visual cues such as lip-reading or sign language.

Young children can have cochlear implants, together with intensive post-implantation therapy, to attain speech, language, developmental and social skills. The ongoing debate on the best age for implantation has still not reached a conclusion. But earlier implantation is recommended — most children who receive implants are of the age between two and six years.

A surgical procedure, the decision to receive a cochlear implant must involve discussions with medical specialists and surgeons. An expensive and safe procedure, complications are present with every kind of surgery. It is also takes quite a bit of getting used to the sounds generated by an implant. Speech-language pathologists and audiologists are of invaluable help at this time. It is not necessary that everyone perform at the same level with a cochlear implant. Prior to implantation, discuss all relevant points and take an informed decision. There are many who chose not to do so due to personal decisions.

Cochlear implant technology is rapidly advancing what with the constant research and evaluation.

Source: NIDCD