How long is there a bandage on my child's head after surgery?

Yes, in most instances, your child will still wear a hearing aid in the other ear after having had a Cochlear Implant. Although a cochlear implant can provide good hearing and good language development when it is used at the appropriate age, it does not mean that the ear that has not been fitted with a cochlear implant should not receive any support.

If your child does well with a hearing aid in the other ear, it should certainly go on, as this will provide binaural hearing (both ears working together), which is normally better than one ear alone. If the response is not as good, but the hearing aid is still working, it is well to continue the stimulation of the remaining ganglion cells and nerve fibres in that ear. This stimulation can factor into that later on, especially if you're planning on getting an implant in the other ear at some point in the future.

For recovery, the surgical dressing on the implanted ear is usually removed around 8-9 days after surgery and the same is true for the removal of the ear's stitches as well. The incision will typically be completely healed at about 10-12 days after the surgery, though your surgeon will determine when your child has completely healed, depending on how your child's child healing is going. Until then, the hearing aid in the other ear can still be used as normal, since it doesn't interfere with the healing process on the operated side.