Question Two: Cochlear Implants

Pat wants to know: Do cochlear implants work for everyone who gets them?

Kerry's Answer: I'm glad this question was asked! It is a common misconception, often exacerbated by medical professionals, that cochlear implants are a "cure" or "miracle fix" for deafness -- that once a deaf person receives the surgery, he or she will automatically be able to hear. However, that in fact is not the case. It does not restore normal sound, but instead more often gives a deaf person more of a representation of his or her environmental and surrounding sounds to aid in understanding speech.

For those who don't know, a cochlear implant is a small electronic device surgically implanted into a profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing person's ear. It contains three external parts: a microphone, which picks up environmental sounds; a speech processor, which filters sounds to prioritize audible speech, sending them to the transmitter; and the transmitter and receiver/stimulator, a magnetic coil receiving the sound signals sent by the speech processor and converts them to electric impulses; and one internal part: an electrode array, surgically implanted beneath the skin of the ear and through the cochlea, which collects the electric impulses sent by the transmitter and sends them to the auditory nerve.

Unlike a hearing aid, which helps damaged ears detect sound better, the implant bypasses these damaged areas and directly stimulates the auditory nerve. It is not the "cure" that it is popularly believed to be, although it can help many deaf individuals who choose (or whose parents choose for them) to have the surgery to hear certain sounds better and aid in speech recognition. After receiving the implant, it takes much work and training to learn (or relearn) to use the implant to hear and train to recognize the new sounds. The earlier the surgery is performed, the better the chances the deaf person has to become accustomed to the implant. Many Deaf individuals who choose to have the surgery still continue to use ASL and be a part of the Deaf culture and community, while some do not sign and rely on reading lips and speech to communicate. How well the implant works also depends on the level of deafness, when the person became deaf, and the amount of training and effort put into becoming acclimated to the device.

Before making this kind of decision for him or herself, or parents for their deaf child, all resources should be allocated to obtain all the necessary information about the device and surgery from all angles.

Thank you for you question! I hope that is clear!