Cochlear Implant Offers Hope to Deaf

There has long been a great deal of interest and effort put into finding ways to help people who suffer with hearing loss to be able to enjoy better hearing. The most well-known solution that has been offered are hearing aids which are available in many forms and which have become better and better with each passing year, thanks to technological advances. An option to hearing aids for those who are profoundly deaf is the cochlear implant, which has been available for many years but only recently has begun to be widely accepted and used.

While the procedure to provide a patient with cochlear implants was first introduced in the mid 1960s, the use of these implants did not really become widespread until the early 1990s. In fact, there was, and still is, some resistance to these devices from the deaf community, which actually first reacted with protests to this new approach to providing better hearing to those with profound hearing loss and deafness.

In this day and age, much of the concern and the opposition that existed with regard to cochlear implant surgery have dissipated considerably. Originally, the primary cause of the resistance was a fear that the deaf community, which has its own unique culture, would be threatened or weakened if cochlear implants began to be widely used.

Now some years later, however, it seems the fear of extinguishing the strong and proud culture of the profoundly deaf was mostly unfounded. Today, cochlear implants are no longer seen as a threat to that lifestyle but instead, as an alternative for better hearing.

Cochlear implants are also often referred to as an "internal hearing aid." But it should be made clear that cochlear implants are not the equivalent of the hearing aid products known as implantable hearing aids. The main difference is that the cochlear implants utilize electricity to directly stimulate nerves in the auditory system while the implantable hearing devices are essentially exactly the same as a standard hearing aid, simply implanted "permanently."

Traditional hearing loss hearing aids simply amplify the sounds. Cochlear implants work differently in that they "rewire" the internal workings in such a way that it actually bypasses the hair cells that have been damaged in the ear. Because of this approach, not everyone with severe hearing loss is eligible for cochlear implants. If the patient still has a certain level of hearing, then they might be rejected for this procedure. The reason for this is that the implant will destroy any natural hearing that is still functioning in the ear that receives the implant.

One interesting note to point out is that even after someone receives an implant, they are still considered to be deaf. In fact, they have the ability to turn their cochlear implants off and when the implants are not on, they are totally deaf.

Deaf adults are now more often making the decision to make the best of their situation by having cochlear implant surgery done. Hearing parents are also more inclined to have these implants done for their deaf children, in cases of the child being born deaf or in cases when the loss occurred through illness of accident. In the end, the choice to have the implants is a very personal one and it is advised that it should not be taken lightly and only after consultation with experienced doctors in the field.