Cochlear+Implant

A cochlear implant is a device that is surgically inserted under the skin behind the ear to help improve the hearing of someone who is deaf or hard of hearing. The device consists of a microphone that picks up the sound, a speech processor that organizes the sounds, a transmitter and receiver that receive input from the speech processor and translate it into electric impulses, and electrodes that take the impulses and transmit them to the brain. The device is not designed to restore someone’s hearing, yet it is developed so that a person can make sense of the sound that they hear around them. It is an expensive procedure that does come with risks, as any surgery does, and one must qualify as a candidate in order to receive that procedure. The earlier in life you receive the implant the better, and the majority of children that receive one are from the ages of 2-6. A cochlear implant is different from a hearing aid in the sense that a hearing aid is used to amplify sound, where a cochlear implant is used to compensate for the damaged parts of the inner ear. People who receive the implant early on in life have the capability to communicate orally as if they did not have any impairment at all.

Resources:

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. //Cochlear Implants//. Online at: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/coch.htm#a accessed on February 23rd, 2006.