Cochlear Implants – Help Beyond Hearing Aids
Cochlear implants and hearing aids are both used to help people who are hard of hearing. Hearing aids work by amplifying sound to help the ear hear better. Cochlear implants bypass the inner workings of the ear by sending signals directly to the auditory nerve.
Cochlear implants cannot cure deafness or provide true hearing. But for people who are severely hard of hearing or who are deaf, cochlear implants can supply some sense of sounds including warning signals and can help in understanding speech and other sounds.
What is a cochlear implant?
Cochlear implants consist of external parts that are worn on the head or upper body and internal parts that are surgically implanted.
External Parts:
These include a microphone, speech processor, and transmitter.
• The microphone picks up sounds and sends them to the speech processor. The microphone can be worn like a behind-the-ear hearing aid.
• The speech processor may be combined with the microphone in a behind-the-ear component, or may be housed in a small box that can be carried in a shirt pocket. The speech processor is a computer that takes the sounds from the microphone, analyzes them, and converts them to a digital signal.
• This signal is sent to the transmitter, which is worn on the head just behind the ear.
Internal Parts:
These include a receiver and electrodes, both of which are surgically implanted.
• The receiver is positioned under the skin just behind the ear and receives the digital signal sent by the transmitter that is worn on the head.
• The receiver sends the signal on to the electrodes which have been surgically inserted into the cochlea, which is a part of the inner ear. The electrodes pass on the electrical signal from the digital processor. This signal stimulates the fibers of the auditory nerve. This nerve carries the signals to the brain where they are interpreted as sound sensations.
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
Add a CommentComments
There are no comments yet. Be the first one and get the conversation started!