What is a Cochlear Implant?
Before you can be completely informed about a cochlear implant, you should know exactly what a cochlear implant is and how it works before you can make an informed decision to get one. Cochlear implants do NOT give a deaf person the ability to hear normal sounds. Although cochlear implants can help with communication and language development, they do not work in the same way a hearing aid does. Sound is not amplified.
Cochlear Implants (CIs)
("Cochlear implant device," 2009)
June 27, 1990 proved to be an important day in the United States. The Federal Drug Administration approved a device from the Cochlear Corporation termed the “bionic ear” (Lane, 1993). This device claimed to help deaf people and those with severe hearing loss hear again, and it some circumstances could help them speak too. The FDA approved this device for children ages 2 through 17, in hopes that it would help children be able to hear better, where hearing aids had failed.
Cochlear implants are made up of two parts; one internal and one external. The internal part is inserted through surgery. The patient is put to sleep and surgeons go through the ear, removing some muscle and insert the cochlear implant transmitter directly into the inner ear nerves (Kannapell, 1994). It takes between 3 to 6 weeks for this procedure to heal before the external component is added. Doctors then attach the external implant that can be visibly seen by others. It holds in place magnetically for easy removal and cleaning of the device. The external part contains the microphone and transmitter that connects to the inner part and sends signals to the ear so sound is heard ("Cochlear implants," 2011).
Most people who benefit from cochlear implants get them at extremely early ages, with the most success being under nine years of age (Lane, 1993). However, cochlear implants do not insure 100% hearing gain. Most people who use them never hear completely normal. Medium to loud sounds can be audible however they do still sound muffled, almost as if talking underwater (Taormina-Weiss, 2010). After a cochlear implant is inserted, children must go through a therapy that teaches them to recognize sound and translate to a form that makes sense to them. Many patients who get the implant at an early age develop speech since they are able to hear themselves produce sound. This speech is also muffled due to the way they perceive other’s speech ("Cochlear implants," 2011).
Cochlear implants are made up of two parts; one internal and one external. The internal part is inserted through surgery. The patient is put to sleep and surgeons go through the ear, removing some muscle and insert the cochlear implant transmitter directly into the inner ear nerves (Kannapell, 1994). It takes between 3 to 6 weeks for this procedure to heal before the external component is added. Doctors then attach the external implant that can be visibly seen by others. It holds in place magnetically for easy removal and cleaning of the device. The external part contains the microphone and transmitter that connects to the inner part and sends signals to the ear so sound is heard ("Cochlear implants," 2011).
Most people who benefit from cochlear implants get them at extremely early ages, with the most success being under nine years of age (Lane, 1993). However, cochlear implants do not insure 100% hearing gain. Most people who use them never hear completely normal. Medium to loud sounds can be audible however they do still sound muffled, almost as if talking underwater (Taormina-Weiss, 2010). After a cochlear implant is inserted, children must go through a therapy that teaches them to recognize sound and translate to a form that makes sense to them. Many patients who get the implant at an early age develop speech since they are able to hear themselves produce sound. This speech is also muffled due to the way they perceive other’s speech ("Cochlear implants," 2011).
What does it sound like when you have an implant?
It is important to know what sound is heard as while using a cochlear implant. Although it has been proved to help in speech development, the sound that is heard is typically not similar to what is actually spoken. Individuals who get a cochlear implant don't hear perfectly after surgery, instead they heard robotic noises that sound muffled. This may be better than not hearing at all, however, speech therapy is also needed to help these individuals understand what noises they are hearing.