Cochlear Implants Hearing Never Sounded So Good
What is a cochlear Implant?
It is an electrical device that is implanted, that can help restore hearing in people with bilateral, profound or senorineural hearing loss. It has been well established as a treatment, as far back as 30 years when France conducted studies.
It is amazing how far the technology of cochlear implants has evolved rapidly from a primitive device using a single electrode to stimulate the ear to devices that transmit sound information via multiple channels or electrodes.
Currently there are a few different cochlear implant systems available, which one will depend on your consultation with your doctor. All of these devices are multi-channel cochlear implant systems. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved all of them for clinical use.
Is The Cochlear Device A Hearing Aid?
No a cochlear implant is not a hearing aid. If differs from a hearing aid, in that it does not amplify sound that a normal person would hear. Instead it transforms speech, and sound energy, and this energy is used to stimulate the auditory inner ear nerves.If you have a cochlear implant installed you will have both an internal and an external device, and surgery is required for implantatation.
How Does It Work?
The way a cholear implant works it that the sound waves in the environment are picked up by the pinna and funneled down the ear canal to the eardrum. These waves strike the eardrum, leading it to vibrate. There are 3 tiny bones attached to the eardrum, called the ossicles. As the ear drum vibrates, so do the ossicles. The smallest of these bones is the stapes, which is attached to the snail-shaped cochlea. The motion of the stapes causes the liquid within the cochlea to move. The movement of this liquid turns on thousands of sensory receptors, called hair cells, which line the cochlea. As the hair cells are excited, they convert the vibrations into electric beats, which are sent along nerve fibers to the brain. The brain interprets these beats as sounds. For folks who are cochlear implant applicants, the outer ear and the middle ear function usually.
However, as the fluid travels in the cochlear, the hair cells are now not excited and don’t generate electrical beats to be dispatched to the brain. Thus, the brain does not understand the sound. The hair cells might be absent or damaged though generally there are some residual nerve fibers. The cochlear implant is an electronic device that excites residual nerve fibers in the inner ear. These electrical beats are sent to the brain and translated as sound. An implant system contains an external speech processor and headset and an internal, surgically implanted electrode array. Cochlear implant surgery lasts about 3 hours and is performed whilst the patient is under general anesthesia.
Implanting The Cholear Receptor
Previous to surgery, a tiny portion of hair is shaved round the ear to be implanted. The surgeon makes a post auricular (behind the ear) incision. A little depression is formed in the mastoid bone to grip the receiver / stimulator so that it is flush with the skull. The surgeon drills thru the mastoid bone to the inner ear. The electrode array is then inserted into the cochlea. The receiver / stimulator are secured to the skull, and the incision is closed with stitches.
How Is it Implanted?
The cochlear implant surgery is in the hospital, with release the next day. The surgery itself lasts about three hours and is performed while the patient is under general anesthesia. In surgery the surgeon will drill into the skull bone to the inner ear, and the implant device is inserted into the cochlea. Then the incision is closed up with some stitches, and these will be removed after a week or more.
People usually feel well and can go to school or work within a week’s time. The exciting part is when the activation takes place. This occurs about 4-6 weeks after surgery, and the incision has healed.
1. Sounds in the environment are picked up by a microphone (1) on the headset.
2. The long cable (2) carries the sound signal from the microphone (1) to the speech processor, a powerful miniaturized computer (3).
3. The speech processor (3) filters, analyzes and digitizes the sound signal into coded electrical signals.
4. These coded signals are carried from the speech processor (3) to the transmitting coil (4) via the long (2) and short (5) cables.
5. The transmitting coil (4) sends the signals across the skin to the implanted receiver/stimulator (6) via an FM radio signal.
6. The receiver/stimulator delivers the correct amount of electrical stimulation to the appropriate electrodes (7) on the array to represent the sound signal that was detected.
7. The electrodes (7) along the array stimulate the remaining auditory nerve fibers in the cochlea, which carry the signal on to the brain, where it is interpreted.
Chidren Cochlear Implants
Most cochlear implants on performed on children, and this device is an amazing technology for more than 1,400 infants born each year with hearing impairment. These devices can be implanted as early as 12 months, keeping children on a slightly delayed verbal speech track that can catch up with their peers. Hearing loss screening and detection should be done early with all infants, and children. Viruses and colds can cause hearing loss, if your child displays any hearing difficulties after a viral illness contact you doctor right away.
Cost Of Cochlear Implants
Some larger commercial health plans, like Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Aetna, and Prudential continue to be the insurances that do provide some coverage for cochlear implants .Even these may limit the total payout for this surgery. Statistic show that insurance companies actually save money over the life time of a cochlear implant recipient, but still the high cost charged by the manufactures make this surgery cost restrictive to many. If you belong to a managed care plans, HMOs, you may not have any coverage. Average out of pocket for this surgery averages over $65,000.
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