Cochlear Implants

Cochlear implants: Regain clarity and confidence in hearing

For people with significant hearing loss, traditional hearing aids might not provide enough benefit. Cochlear implants offer a life-changing solution, helping you hear sounds and speech more clearly so you can reconnect with family, friends, and the world around you. 

What is a cochlear implant?

A cochlear implant is a small electronic medical device that helps people with severe hearing loss by replacing the function of the damaged inner ear. Unlike hearing aids, which only make sounds louder, cochlear implants send sound signals directly to the hearing nerve, allowing the brain to interpret them as sound.

Each cochlear implant system has two main parts: 

• External sound processor: Captures sound and converts it into digital signals.
• Internal implant: Surgically placed under the skin, it sends those sound signals to the auditory nerve through a thin electrode in the cochlea. 

How a cochlear implant works?

1. Microphones on the sound processor pick up sounds around you.
2. The processor converts those sounds into digital information.
3. That information is sent through a coil to the implant under your skin.
4. The implant transmits signals through the electrode to the cochlea.
5. The hearing nerve carries the signals to your brain where they’re recognized as sound. 

This technology can restore access to sound that hearing aids can’t provide, allowing for clearer speech understanding and improved communication. 

Who's a candidate for cochlear implants?

Cochlear implants could help: 

• Adults with moderate-to-profound hearing loss in both ears who don’t receive enough benefit from hearing aids.
• Children 12 months and older with severe-to-profound hearing loss in both ears. 

You might be a candidate if you:

• Struggle to follow conversations, even in quiet settings
• Frequently ask others to repeat themselves
• Depend on lip-reading or your spouse to understand speech
• Avoid social activities because it’s hard to hear
• Feel drained at the end of the day from trying to listen
• Have trouble talking on the phone or keeping up at work 

If any of these sound familiar, a cochlear implant evaluation at Reid Health ENT & Hearing Center can help determine whether this treatment is right for you.