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cochlear implants Surgery
Human ear is responsible for establishing balance in body and also hearing. This organ which its frequency range is between 20 to 20000 HZ can recognize the difference of sound volume of less than 1 decibel and frequency difference less than 1%. However, sometimes maybe due to congenital hearing problems and sometimes due to various factors like aging and disease, the hearing gradually declines. In such cases hearing aids may allow the individual to communicate with the environment. Hearing aids don’t help people with intense to deep low hearing and hardly can hear the sounds or only they hear the very loud sounds. For such special cases, one should use cochlear implant.
For those with deep hearing loss in both ears and those who don’t use hearing aids properly, the cochlear implant Surgery can be used. Many people use bilateral cochlear implant Surgery , namely for both ears. Hearing with two ears can foster the ability of recognizing the sound direction.
How cochlear implants Surgery improve the hearing?
Many people suffer from hearing loss by capillary cells of internal ear (or ear cochlea). Cochlear implant Surgery allows sound to transfer to hearing nerves and reach to ear. The components of cochlear implant and the duties of its parts can be summarized as follows:
1- Sound processing: its captures the sounds coming from microphone and processes its.
2- implant: it catches a signal from speech processor and turns it into electrical impulses.
3- A group of electrodes catches the impulses from implanted part and sends it to various parts of hearing ear.
4- microphone: it receives ambient sounds and its accurate place is behind ear and the processor is exactly above it. Electrodes are placed by surgical method in the ear cochlea. Implant doesn’t restore the natural hearing. But it can offer a useful representation of existing sounds in the environment to the deaf and helps him to understand the speech.
The procedure of implanting cochlea is as follows:
A sound processor that is placed behind the ear receives the voice and turns it to the digital code. Sound processor works with a battery.
Sound processor transfer the digital encoded voice through external bobbin placed out of heat to the implant.
Implant turns the digital encoded sound into electrical pulses and sends it to electrode array in ear cochlea (internal ear) Surgery.
Electrodes stimulate the cochlea Surgery. Hearing nerve sends the impulses to the brain and the impulses are perceived in brain as sound.
How cochlear implant surgery is done?
Cochlear implant Surgery is a one of the surgeries which is related to ear surgery, it is an operation which is done under general anesthesia and takes long 2 to 4 hours.
In this surgery, surgeon makes an incision behind the ear and opens the skull bone (mastoid) and then by making a small hole in ear cochlea, passes the electrode array of inner device through this hole. At the end, the incisions are closed up. After cochlear surgery, the patient usually stays at hospital one day and return to usual activities will be after 3 to 5 days. After the surgery some slight effects may be experienced like slight pressure or upset in ear, vertigo or nausea derived from general anesthesia. At the end of a week, for removing sutures, the physician examination is necessary. For speeding up the curing time, the cochlear implant isn’t activated immediately after surgery, but two to six weeks later it can be activated.
What are the benefits of cochlear implant surgery ?
The studies have shown that the patients who has undergone cochlear implant Surgery, they attain to average 80% perception, and this degree is less for those with deep hearing loss and use hearing aids.
- Ability to hearing speech without need to visual signs like lip reading
- Recognizing natural and daily environmental voices
- Ability to hear to a resource in a noisy environment
- Ability to understand that where the sounds come from, so as to hear TV programs and telephone conversations.
Which factors can affect these benefits?
The benefits of cochlear implant Surgery often vary from person to another. The reasons for this variation are usually as follows:
- Duration of hearing loss before cochlear implant surgery
- Intensity of hearing loss
- The state of cochlea (inner ear)
- Patient’s other medical conditions
- Rehabilitation range after cochlear implant
Cochlear Implant Surgery in Iran
Cochlear implant surgery results
Presently annually at least 3000 persons undergo cochlear implant and most of them are children. According to remark of podiatrists one can carry out the cochlear surgery from age of one year old. For younger children with deep hearing loss, use of cochlear implant is very important for developing speech and language skills. The studies show that children undergone before age of 18 months to cochlear implant and received therapy have language skills comparable to their peer and many of them have acceptable performance in their classroom in comparison with their peers that underwent the implant in higher ages.
Some of the adults who lose their hearing in adulthood also may use cochlear implant. Adult patients without any need to any visual sign like lip reading or sign language can tie the signal existing in implant with memorized sounds. Cochlear implant can improve communication and life quality in people to whom the hearing aids don’t help considerably.
Necessary features for using cochlear implant surgery
Deep hearing loss
Poor usage of hearing aids
Lack of medical conditions or factors which increase the risks related to cochlear implant
High motivation for presence in rehabilitation sessions
Clear understanding of cochlear implants benefits and disadvantages (cochlear implant surgery)
In general, cochlear implant is a good way for restoring the hearing ability especially for children with deep hearing loss. Important tip in cochlear implant is prevention of ear infection. For warding off the ear infection the periodical checkup and examining the implant state after the implant is necessary. From other side, the patient should adjust its life with his or her conditions to lower the infection risk.
Meta description: The studies have shown that the patients who has undergone cochlear implant, they attain to average 80% perception
