Science and its advancements never fail to surprise humans. As development in modern technology progresses, we get to witness miraculous discoveries and inventions that not only make life convenient, but also help regain some of the lost physical abilities. Hearing-aid is one of such inventions.
We all are aware about different types of hearing aids that help people with clear listening, but very few know about Cochlear Implant, which is a game changer invention.
What is Cochlear Implant?
Cochlear implant is a device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. It has an external portion that sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin. Unlike any other hearing aid, it takes a surgical procedure to fit a Cochlear Implant inside a patient’s ear. Generally, hearing aids amplify the outer sounds and send them to the brain, whereas, Cochlear Implant copies the entire hearing functioning with electronic stimulation. The sound signals provided by this function is almost similar to actual hearing, as compared to the amplified sounds provided by a set of standard hearing aids.
Cochlear Implant consists of two major parts:
Internal implant: Internal implant is a set which is placed inside the ear, through surgery.
External sound processor: External sound processor is a kind of transmitter that magnetically fits outside the ear, and captures the outer sounds.
After a few days of surgery, the external sound processor is initiated under the supervision of concerned ENT surgeon, and audiologists. The external sounds caught by the processor are digitally converted into signals inside the internal implant and sent to the cochlea, following that, the hearing nerve sends these signals to the brain and the actual sound is heard.
Cochlear Implant is advisable for both children and adults. Still, before finalizing on such a decision, it will be helpful to take the concerned doctors’ advice and undergo all the required tests, and investigations.
Some of the basic tests recommended before Cochlear Implant are:
Especially in case of children, parents or guardians need to act as early as possible. While growing up, children need to learn and develop a number of other abilities and skills, and many of them majorly depend upon their hearing ability. Cochlear Implant is more than a surety that the child is going to learn faster and enjoy hearing more. The key is to take the decision at the earliest.
Why Cochlear Implant is better?
Having read the functioning of Cochlear Implant mentioned above, it’s undoubtedly an advanced hearing aid. People with impaired hearing ability find it hard to listen as hearing takes so much of concentration and the same is unsettling, at times. Traditional hearing aids only amplify the sounds while Cochlear Implant performs the entire hearing process to send the actual sounds to the brain.
Dr. Kunal Nigam, Head of the Department & Consultant
ENT, Cochlear Implant & Voice Disorders
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