Cochlear Implants

Overview

Cochlear implant headset

Mayo Clinic is dedicated to providing the highest-quality cochlear implants program for adults and children with severe sensorineural hearing loss.

Each Mayo Clinic location has a specialized team skilled at evaluating, treating and rehabilitating cochlear implant users. These teams include ENT specialists, audiologists and speech-language pathologists. Our cochlear implant teams have extensive experience with Food and Drug Administration-approved cochlear implant systems, performing more than 120 adult and child cochlear implants each year.

Mayo Clinic staff members are committed to the long-term support of our cochlear implant patients, from the initial fitting and programming of the device, through rehabilitation, to ongoing management of device performance. Mayo Clinic researchers are also involved in research to develop and improve hybrid devices that blend traditional hearing aid technology with cochlear implant advances.

Evaluation

Potential candidates undergo an extensive evaluation at the clinic to determine if they are good candidates for cochlear implantation. Read more about cochlear implant evaluation.

Cochlear implant

Implant Procedure

An ear, nose and throat surgeon implants the hearing receiver/stimulator in the inner ear. After two to four weeks, patients return to the clinic to have the device activated. Several programming sessions are required to obtain optimal performance. Sound quality gradually improves as the patient's brain learns to understand the new sounds heard through the implant device. Read more about the cochlear implant procedure.

• Treatment in Arizona
• Treatment in Florida
• Treatment in Minnesota
• Treatment of Children & Adolescents

About Cochlear Implants

A cochlear implant is a prosthetic device that partially restores hearing function in individuals who have severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. Bilateral cochlear implants are increasingly being accepted as standard care for the treatment of severe-to-profound hearing loss. Learn more about cochlear implants.