If you’re deaf or hard of hearing, it’s easy for it to seem like you’re missing out on things. You want to feel more connected to your environment and better understand conversations with loved ones, hear the dialogue from your favorite movie or understand other sounds around you.
You might feel frustrated if you’ve tried hearing aids and they just don’t work for you. But luckily, there are several other options provided by Premier Medical Group that might open a new world of sounds for you.
When a crucial part of your inner ear is not working properly, you may need more than a hearing aid — you may need a cochlear implant. Learn more about how they work and help you process sound.
What Is a Cochlear Implant?
A cochlear implant is a device that stimulates the auditory nerve by using electrodes placed in the cochlea of the inner ear. Cochlear implants are designed to mimic the function of a healthy inner ear (or cochlea). They replace the function of damaged sensory hair cells inside the inner ear to help provide clearer sound than what hearing aids can provide. This device has both external and internal parts. The external part sits behind the ear and picks up sounds with a microphone. The sound is then transmitted to the internal element of the implant.
In the United States, around 58,000 adults and 38,000 children received cochlear implants between 2012 and 2022. Across the world, approximately 324,200 devices have been implanted.
How are These Implants Different from Hearing Aids?
While hearing aids amplify sounds, implants bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. The implant generates signals that are sent through the auditory nerve to the brain, which are in turn recognized as sounds.
Hearing through a cochlear implant can take time to learn. But Premier Medical Group’s team of skilled hearing implant specialists will be by your side through this process. Once you get accustomed to those new sounds, you can better understand the sounds that make up your world, whether it’s something spoken by a family member or friend, discussion in a classroom or the bark of your dog.
When Should I Consider a Hearing Implant?
This is a big question, and you don’t have to answer it on your own. Our provider will help you determine if hearing implants would be a good fit for you.
Implants are often used in the following circumstances:
- You’re experiencing hearing loss that is not helped by hearing aids.
- You miss more than half of spoken words or rely on lip reading, even with hearing aids.
- You have a profound sensorineural hearing loss, a condition involving damage to your inner ear.
What Are the Steps to getting a Cochlear Implant?
- Hearing Test: You will need to have your hearing tested by a Hearing Implant Specialist to determine if you are a candidate for a cochlear implant.
- Insurance Approval: Your Hearing Implant Specialist will work with your insurance company to determine your eligibility for coverage
- Surgery: Cochlear implant surgery is a fairly routine outpatient procedure that usually takes between two to four hours under general anesthesia and is covered by your insurance
- Activation: Typically two to four weeks after surgery, you will have an appointment with your audiologist to activate your cochlear implant. This is the day you will begin to hear sound through your cochlear implant for the first time
- Post Surgery: You will have several appointments over the first several months so your audiologist can make adjustments and fine tune your sound processor to help ensure your best hearing experience.
- Ongoing Rehab and Care: Just as with any surgical procedure, you will need to undergo rehabilitation. Your brain will need to be retrained to understand sounds. Rehabilitation can help to speed up the learning and healing process and will be key to your success.
Our Team Is in Your Corner
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when thinking about receiving a cochlear implant. Undergoing surgery and taking the time to learn to interpret the new sounds that you’re hearing can feel daunting, and you might not know where to start. At Premier Medical Group, we’ll guide you through every step of the process.
Call Premier Medical Group for more information or to schedule an appointment.