• Artist drawing a diagram of an ear

    Cochlear Implant Information and Support

    A cochlearimplant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense ofsound to a person with a severe hearing loss or profound deafness. A personpossessing a mild to moderate loss would not be a candidate.

    A cochlearimplant can restore hearing in patients suffering deafness due to loss ofsensory hair cells in the cochlea. In these individuals, an implant can restoresufficient hearing to allow unaided understanding of speech in the presence ofquiet background noise.

    The deviceworks in this manner:

    ·       Externalsound processor captures sound (through a tiny microphone) and converts it intodigital signals.
     
    ·       Thesignals are sent through the skin to the internal implant.

    ·       Internalimplant converts signals into electrical energy, sending it to an electrodearray inside the cochlea.

    ·       Theseelectrodes stimulate the auditory nerve, bypassing damaged hair cells. Thebrain perceives these signals as sound.

    Threecompanies are the primary manufacturers of cochlear implants. They are:

    ·       AdvancedBionics

    ·       CochlearCorporation

    ·       Med-El

     
     
Last Modified on January 2, 2012