Cochlear implants are electrical devices that help to recover the hearing of patients with hearing impairment. For those who have significant hearing loss due to inner-ear damage, these implants are an alternative treatment, especially if the condition can no longer be assisted by hearing aids. Moreover, unlike hearing aids that enhance sound, a cochlear implant skips damaged parts of the ears to transmit sound impulses to the hearing nerve.
Furthermore, a sound processor that attaches behind the ears is used in cochlear implants. The processor receives sound impulses and transmits it to a receiver implanted beneath the skin behind the ears. In the snail-shaped inner ear, the impulses are sent by the receiver to electrodes implanted. The signals activate the auditory nerve that relays them to the brain. The brain perceives such impulses as sounds, though they will not be the same as normal hearing.
Additionally, learning to understand the received signal from a cochlear implant requires time and practice. Nevertheless, most patients with cochlear implants show significant increases in speech understanding after a year of using them.
How Do Cochlear Implants Help?
Cochlear implants can help children as early as six to twelve months old, as well as adults. Individuals who have cochlear implants claim that they have improved their:
- Ability to hear sound without relying on visual signals like lip reading.
- Capability to hear in a loud setting.
- Capability to locate the source of noises.
- Recognition of normal, daily ambient noises
- Capability to hear television shows, songs, and phone calls.
In order for you to have a cochlear implant, the following conditions must be applicable to you:
- Conversations are disrupted due to severe hearing loss.
- Your hearing aids provide you limited benefits.
- You have no medical conditions that may increase risks linked with cochlear implants.
The Side Effects Of The Implant
Cochlear implant surgery is typically considered to be risk-free. However, some of the probable adverse effects of cochlear implantation include:
- Residual hearing loss. In some individuals, implanting the device might result in the loss of any residual, not clear, normal hearing in the implanted ear.
- The concealer implant surgery may bring some infection that affects the membranes and spinal cord. Children and adults are typically given vaccines to minimize the risk of meningitis before implantation.
- The gadget has failed. A malfunctioning internal device may need surgery to fix or replace it.
