A cochlear implant device may be an option for children and adults with severe to profound hearing loss. A cochlear implant functions by changing sound into electrical impulses and uses these impulses to stimulate the auditory nerve so that the brain can interpret impulses as sound.
How Cochlear Implants Work
- The external sound processor is worn behind the ear or on the body. It captures sound, then filters and processes the sounds, turning it into digital code.
- The sound processor transmits the digitally-coded sound through the coil on the outside of your head to the implant.
- The internal implant converts the digitally-coded sound into electrical impulses and sends them along the electrode array that sits gently in the cochlea (the inner ear).
- The implant’s electrodes stimulate the cochlea’s hearing nerve, bypassing the damaged cells that cause hearing loss, sending impulses to the brain where they are interpreted as sound.
Our clinical staff has provided cochlear implant services in Bristol area since 2009 and have years of experience in performing adjustments to the cochlear implant sound processor through a procedure called mapping the device. These services are performed after the surgical recovery process. A patient typically returns multiple times for mapping following activation of the cochlear implant speech processor. We additionally offer aural rehabilitation services as the cochlear implant recipient learns to listen through “their new ears.”
Contact us if you are interested in determining whether or not you or a family member may be a candidate for cochlear implants.”