Understanding Cochlear Implants

Many people suffering from hearing loss can get help from cochlear implants. These tiny tools can be placed behind the ear and can help people suffering from deafness understand cued speech and other sounds. Although the cost for a cochlear implant can be rather expensive, it often varies among patients. Before determining if you are even eligible to have a cochlear implant, you will need to undergo several hearing tests to be considered.

Determining Eligibility

The Food and Drug Administration has approved cochlear implants for both adults and children. A cochlear implant interacts with the auditory nerve inside the inner ear by sending sound messages to it for interpretation. To determine if you or your child is eligible to receive these medical hearing devices, a series of hearing tests and evaluations will be performed to see the extent of damage to this nerve. According to the National Association of the Deaf, eligible candidates need to have profound hearing loss in one or both ears, but still have a functioning auditory nerve to receive clearance for implants.

People who have suffered from a great deal of hearing loss for a long period are not likely to be good candidates for cochlear implants. If your hearing was damaged several years ago, your auditory nerve is likely damaged, which means it will not work properly. As such, you will not be able to interpret sound patterns and cued speech, even with a cochlear implant. If your hearing abilities are dwindling, get help as soon as possible. The longer your hearing is damaged, the less likely you will be to benefit from a cochlear implant.

Other factors that determine eligibility are whether language skills and speech patterns developed prior to hearing loss. For patients who receive a cochlear implant after these skills developed, a higher success rate is likely to occur when undergoing post-operative speech and language rehabilitation. For adults and children who did not learn cued speech and sound patterns, the rehabilitation period could last longer and be more difficult to attain.

The Cost of Cochlear Implants