What is the cochlear implant?
The cochlear implant is a device that has the capability to provide people who are deaf or have some degree of hearing loss with a sense of sound. The implant has complex parts to the device but there are two main parts that must be known. There is an outer part that sits behind the ear and a second part that is not visible but is surgically placed into the skin. The four complex parts are as follows:
The cochlear implant is a device that has the capability to provide people who are deaf or have some degree of hearing loss with a sense of sound. The implant has complex parts to the device but there are two main parts that must be known. There is an outer part that sits behind the ear and a second part that is not visible but is surgically placed into the skin. The four complex parts are as follows:
- Microphone: detects noises from the environment
- Speech processor: selects and arranges sounds picked up from the microphone
- Transmitter and Receiver: gathers signals from speech processor and transfers into electric impulses
- Electrode Array: Group of electrodes that collects the impulses from the stimulator and sends them to different areas of the auditory nerve
Medical Professionals
The medical professionals listed above are just a few of the professionals involved in either implanting the cochlear implant or working with the patient to get the most of the implant. Professionals in this field believe that implantation at an early age will be most beneficial. However, the implant surgery can be done at any time throughout one's life. It is strongly recommended that once the patient receives the implant that the method of communication is only speaking. Medical professionals view deafness in children and adults as a disability and something that must be cured. They use the term hearing impaired to refer to deaf persons.
(Cochlear Implants, n.d.) |
Beneficial Viewpoints of Cochlear Implant
|
ENT Surgeon, Dr. Tony Batten of Newfoundland firmly believes that "Children with implants get better incomes when they graduate, they get higher levels of learning, they integrate into society. " (Eradicating Deafness, 2009.)