Cochlear Implant

It is a surgically implanted device, which provides hearing sensation to the patients who have severe to profound deafness and who gets either no or little benefit from hearing aid.

It bypasses the damaged part (hair cells) of the inner ear and sends electrical stimulation to the nerve ganglions and the hearing nerve, which is then interpreted as sound, by the brain.

Cochlear implant has two components: outer component and inner component Let’s have an idea about the outer component. The outer component sits behind the ear with a transmitting coil placed on the scalp attached with magnet. It has a microphone, a speech processor and a transmitting coil.

Inner component consists of a receiver-stimulator, ground electrode and an electrode array which contains the electrode for stimulation of ganglion cells.

Benefits of Cochlear Implant

There are certain benefits that are reported by adults and parents of small children after they had undergone cochlear implant surgery.

• Improved ability to hear and understand words and sentences without lip-reading
• Ability to hear normal, everyday environmental sounds
• Increased ability to listen in a noisy environment
• Ability to hear television programs and telephone conversations
• Improved ability to perform effectively the tasks encountered in everyday life in settings of
  • Noisy backgrounds
  • Soft speech
  • Appreciation of music
  • Using the telephone
  • Business environment