Report

Cochlear Implants

In the 1960’s studies of electrical stimulation on human began, and the first wearable implants were designed in the 1970’s. The Food and Drug Administration in the United States granted the first approval for cochlear implants in adults in 1985 and 1990 for children. Which brings us to today where cochlear implants are a safe and effective medical procedure for individuals who are severely to profoundly deaf. The cochlear implant is appropriate for individuals who receive minimal or no benefit from a conventional hearing aid.

There is criteria that individuals must meet to be eligible for a cochlear implant. Doctors will evaluate the candidate to determine if the individual will benefit from the cochlear implant surgery. If the patient meets the criteria for a cochlear implant then the surgery will be scheduled. Two to four weeks post-surgery, the external components of the cochlear implant will be programed and activated. It may take up to a year and several appointments to program the implant correctly in order to reach optimal performance from the cochlear implant. Rehabilitation will also be needed post-surgery to train the brain to understand the new sounds heard through the newly placed cochlear implant.

There are four basic parts to a cochlear implant and they are as follows: external microphone, external speech processor, external transmitter, and internal receiver/stimulator. These four basic parts of the cochlear implant work together to allow individuals to hear sound. This process starts when the external microphone picks up sound from the environment. An external speech processor selects and arranges sounds picked up by the microphone. The external speech processor is worn either behind the ear or on a belt and translates the sound into electrical codes. Codes are sent by a thin cable to the internal receiver/stimulator held to the scalp by its attraction to a magnet implanted beneath the skin. The transmitter send codes across...