Cochlear implants are small electronic devices that allow people to hear sounds. A cochlear implant is different from a hearing aid. Hearing aids make sounds louder but still rely on the ear’s natural hearing ability, so they don’t work well enough for people with very severe hearing loss. Cochlear implants bypass the part of the ear that doesn’t work, by using electrical current to stimulate the auditory nerve. They can help even when the ear has such severe hearing loss that a person can’t understand speech even with powerful hearing aids.

A cochlear implant electrically stimulates the cochlear nerve (nerve for hearing). It has two parts.
1. External processor: This part sits behind the ear and contains a microphone to detect sound and a battery to power the system. It processes sound and transmits power and signals to the internal stimulator.
2. Internal processor: This part is surgically implanted. It includes electronics, a magnet, and a set of electrodes. A surgeon implants the stimulator’s electronics and magnet behind the patient’s ear and then inserts the electrodes into the cochlea, which is part of the inner ear. After the system is first turned on a few weeks after surgery, the magnet helps hold the external processor in place, and the electrodes send signals to the auditory nerve. The brain can learn to understand those signals as sound.

A cochlear implant helps give a person a sense of sound. It doesn’t restore hearing to normal. However, it can help a person understand speech and noises in the environment.

Who Should get Cochlear implant?

A cochlear implant may be right for you, if you:

• Have inner ear hearing loss
• Have trouble understanding speech even with properly fit hearing aids
• Are motivated and have a support system that can help them or loved one understand sounds and speech
• For children with hearing loss severe enough that hearing aids are not adequate, starting cochlear implant use as early as possible leads to better hearing and ability to use and understand spoken language.
• Babies born with profound sensorineural hearing loss

Candidates must also understand that after getting a cochlear implant you must undergo activation, programming and rehabilitation.

Benefits of a Cochlear implant

Cochlear implants help restore the ability to understand spoken language, which can improve the person’s quality of life when hearing aids do not provide speech understanding.

People with cochlear implants report the following benefits:

• The ability to hear their own voice helping them improve how they pronounce words and the tone of their voice
• Easier communication with friends and family
• The ability to hear the sounds around them for safety and better quality of life
• For babies born with hearing loss or young children with progressive hearing loss, early cochlear implantation provides the opportunity to meet developmental milestones similar to their peers.

• Cochlear implant surgery is performed as a private case in Ali Medical Centre.
• Surgery is completed under general anesthesia.
• Most surgeries are completed in about two and a half hours.
• A child receives the same implants as adults because the size of internal ear structures does not change with age.
• Surgery is completed using a minimal incision while constantly monitoring the nearby nerves, including the facial nerve which is monitored continuously.
• Make sure you arrive in the pre-surgery area to which you have been assigned two hours prior to your surgery start time.
• Patient is discharged on next day after check Xray.

Overview

While the cochlear implant provides access to sound, understanding takes more than just hearing. Intensive individualized habilitation (intervention for patients who have never heard before) and rehabilitation (intervention for patients who are learning to hear again) allows for optimal gains for all recipients. Our rehabilitation team consists of highly trained speech language pathologists and educators of the deaf. A unique rehabilitative and patient-centered focus allows for collaboration among the recipient, family, therapist, doctor, audiologist, and other professionals to establish a path to success. Our multi-disciplinary team shares a commitment to providing a complete network of services to help each of our patients use their cochlear implant(s) to achieve their greatest potential.

Benefits of a Cochlear implant

Rehabilitation for children begins shortly after the implant is activated. The Cochlear Implant Center requires families to commit to a minimum of one year of rehabilitation in order to maximize outcomes. One-hour rehabilitation sessions for children occur on a weekly basis. Rehabilitation for adults begins with an adult rehabilitation consultation. This one-time, 120-minute consultation may be scheduled at any time after the patient acquires at least one month of listening experience with the cochlear implant(s). Individualized needs in the areas of auditory therapy, communication management and the adjustment to an auditory environment are determined. Based upon the results of this functional evaluation, the therapist will recommend a treatment plan for follow-up services, which may occur weekly or as needed. People with cochlear implants report the following benefits:

• The ability to hear their own voice helping them improve how they pronounce words and the tone of their voice
• Easier communication with friends and family
• The ability to hear the sounds around them for safety and better quality of life
• For babies born with hearing loss or young children with progressive hearing loss, early cochlear implantation provides the opportunity to meet developmental milestones similar to their peers.

Initiating Aural Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation for children begins shortly after the implant is activated. The Cochlear Implant Center requires families to commit to a minimum of one year of rehabilitation in order to maximize outcomes. One-hour rehabilitation sessions for children occur on a weekly basis. Rehabilitation for adults begins with an adult rehabilitation consultation. This one-time, 120-minute consultation may be scheduled at any time after the patient acquires at least one month of listening experience with the cochlear implant(s). Individualized needs in the areas of auditory therapy, communication management and the adjustment to an auditory environment are determined. Based upon the results of this functional evaluation, the therapist will recommend a treatment plan for follow-up services, which may occur weekly or as needed.

Rehabilition Goals and Objectives

Goals and objectives are tailored to meet the unique needs of the pediatric and adult patients. The rehabilitation program systematically develops one’s ability to detect, imitate and associate meaning with the sounds of spoken language. Through a process of specialized strategies, instruction is provided with analysis and feedback to cultivate the emerging auditory system. Our rehabilitation services will provide the necessary guidance to address these individual needs and empower individuals to meet their optimal potential.

Outreach Program

Goals and objectives are tailored to meet the unique needs of the pediatric and adult patients. The rehabilitation program systematically develops one’s ability to detect, imitate and associate meaning with the sounds of spoken language. Through a process of specialized strategies, instruction is provided with analysis and feedback to cultivate the emerging auditory system. Our rehabilitation services will provide the necessary guidance to address these individual needs and empower individuals to meet their optimal potential.

After cochlear implant surgery, you must allow 6 weeks for the area to heal. Once the area is fully healed we can start to program and use the external processor on the ear. You will be scheduled for a series of programming appointments over the course of the four to six weeks.

You should continue to expect to be seen for programming every six to 12 months for the life of your implant.

During the first programming appointments, most people do not understand the information the implant is providing them. The goal is to get your nerves and brain used to hearing again. Over the following months, the implant stimulation patterns will be understood by the brain, providing comprehension of speech. As your hearing becomes more sensitive, programming will consist of adjustments to accommodate the changes.

Programming of the cochlear implant is just the first step to successful use of the technology. Retraining of your brain to understand the unique stimulation of the cochlear implant requires some practice and adjustment on the part of all patients. You will work with your audiologist and auditory rehabilitation therapist to get ideas on how this may be best accomplished within your lifestyle.