| There are some types of deafness which cannot be | | | | is one of the reasons why it normally takes more than |
| enhanced by wearing a standard hearing aid, that is a | | | | six months to get the unit attuned to you and your |
| hearing aid which receives the sound via a microphone, | | | | lifestyle. |
| amplifies it and then replays it into your ear. Luckily | | | | For this reason the amount of success from having a |
| some of the people who suffer from these problems | | | | cochlear implant depends chiefly on the patient. Some |
| can be assisted in other ways. | | | | of the considerations playing an important role in the |
| One of these other methods is a cochlear implant. A | | | | success of the implant are: how long, you have been |
| cochlear implant device has to be surgically implanted | | | | deaf; how long you could hear sounds before you |
| into the ear. Cochlear implants do not amplify the | | | | went deaf; how well your brain remembers those |
| sounds entering the ear, but rather they stimulate the | | | | sounds and the state of the cochlear and its auditory |
| functioning auditory nerves inside the cochlear. This is | | | | nerves |
| achieved with minute electrical impulses. | | | | As mentioned above, the operation and tuning of a |
| These cochlear units are very intricate and consist of | | | | cochlear implant is costly. Naturally, the final price tag |
| quite a few miniaturized parts including a speech | | | | depends on which doctor installed the device and |
| processor and a radio transmitter. As you can guess, | | | | where he or she is to be found, but you could say that |
| this is rather an expensive operation and is still nor | | | | it will cost at least $50,000 and maybe twice that |
| carried out routinely, not least because there are other | | | | much. Luckily, most health insurance plans will pick up |
| alternatives that can tried first. | | | | some of the costs, but the percentage they will pay |
| The up-side is that most people who have had the | | | | varies a great deal. |
| operation have said that it was worth the money and | | | | The cochlear implant is the only device on offer at the |
| that the results were fantastic. In fact, most patients | | | | moment to help sufferers with some kinds of |
| said that their hearing was almost as good as normal. | | | | permanent hearing disability - especially complete |
| There is a vast improvement in hearing immediately | | | | deafness. |
| after the operation, but hearing continues to improve | | | | Until 2000, children could only receive this operation if |
| for six months or more afterwards by means of | | | | they were over the age of two years in the United |
| tuning sessions and the body's natural adjustment. The | | | | States, but this age limit was then lowered to one |
| results are a lot slower for children as it takes them | | | | year. Nearly two- thirds of those who have undergone |
| longer to get accustomed to the electrical stimuli. | | | | a cochlear implant have been children and most of the |
| Various types of background noise can be a problem, | | | | children were between two and six years of age. |
| but some of these difficulties can be tuned out, which | | | | |