What You Need to Know About a Cochlear Implant

People suffer from hearing loss when the hair cells of the inner ear or hair cow are severely damaged. There are many possible reasons for damage to hair cells, including exposure to loud sounds and noise, head trauma, viruses and illnesses. If left untreated, it can lead to hearing loss.

Today, cochlear implants have become a popular solution for people with hearing impairments. With this implant, the sound is transmitted to the patient's auditory nerve and is heard again by the patient.

What is a cochlear implant?

A cochlear implant is a small electronic device that performs the functions of the inner ear. It provides a sense of sound to people who are severely deaf or have severe hearing impairments. The implant consists of two parts: the outer part located behind the ear and the inner part surgically implanted under the skin. Hearing aids work by making the sound louder, while implants replace the function of the damaged part of the inner ear and send sound signals to the brain. Implant devices are made up of various components such as microphones, speech processors, transmitters, and electrode arrays.

How does it work?

Unlike hearing aids that amplify the sound so that it can be detected by a damaged ear, the behavior of the cochlear implant is different. They directly stimulate the auditory nerve and send signals to the brain. The brain recognizes signals as sounds. Basically, the implant acts as a damaged co-cow-sending a signal to the brain. Hearing with a cochlear implant is not the same as normal hearing. Because it usually takes time to learn its features, patience is important to using the device to relearn hearing.

Who can get the implants?

The cochlear implant is ideal for both adults and children who suffer from hearing loss or one of the following:

• One ear has severe hearing loss but the other ear has normal hearing
• Little or no benefit from hearing aids
• Both ears have moderate to severe hearing impairment or are completely deaf
• Score less than 65% in a sentence recognition test conducted by an auditory expert

Some people have cochlear implants in both ears, others in only one ear. Obviously, listening with two ears improves your ability to detect the direction of the sound and separate what you want to hear from what you don't want to hear.

What are the benefits of implants?

The patient can hear again, which is a great help for those who suffer from hearing impairments. The advantages of using a cochlear implant are:

• Increase patient concentration when in a noisy environment
• Reconnect by missing the sound that the patient could not hear in front of the cochlear implant
• Talk and listen on the phone
• Sounds better than using a hearing aid
• Patients feel safer both indoors and outdoors because they hear alarms and people call and approach cars
• Allow patients to talk to others at tables, parks, streets, restaurants, and other crowded places
• Enjoy listening to music

The cochlear implant is suitable for both adults and children with hearing loss.