Cochlear Implants

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Cochlear implant diagram

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Patients with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss may receive partial restoration of hearing function after receiving a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant is not considered a hearing aid.

Cochlear implants may be used to treat several hearing disorders and conditions, including:

• Sensorineural hearing loss
• Auditory neuropathy
• Congenital sensorineural hearing loss
• Familial hearing loss
• Genetic hearing loss
• Meningitis
• Noise induced hearing loss
• Otosclerosis
• Inner ear malformations
• Enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome
• Meniere's disease
• Acoustic neuroma
• Neurofibromatosis Type 2
• Superficial siderosis

FDA-approved cochlear implant

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How Cochlear Implants Work

Regardless of the manufacturer or brand, all cochlear implant systems essentially operate the same:

• The headset microphone picks up sounds, which travel through a thin cable to a speech processor, which the patient wears on the ear like a hearing aid or on a belt or in a pocket.
• The processor converts the signal into an electrical code and sends the code back up the cable to the transmitter fastened to the head.
• The transmitter sends the code across the skin to a receiver-stimulator implanted in bone directly beneath the transmitter.
• The stimulator sends the code down a tiny bundle of wires threaded directly into the cochlea (snail-shaped primary hearing organ). Nerve fibers are activated by electrode bands on this bundle of wires.
• The auditory nerve carries the signal to the brain, which interprets the signal as a form of hearing.

Bilateral Cochlear Implants

Bilateral cochlear implants are increasingly being accepted as standard care for the treatment of severe-to-profound hearing loss. This is particularly true for infants and children who are acquiring speech and language.

Bilateral cochlear implants have been documented to provide significant hearing benefit for children and adults related to quiet, noise, reverberation and localization of sounds. In addition to the measurable benefits of restoring hearing to both ears, there are also subjective benefits. Recent research has provided evidence that bilateral cochlear implants significantly improve the quality of life in patients with severe-to-profound hearing loss and that the cost of the second implant is offset by its benefits.