Audiology

Treatment

Benefits of Cochlear Implants

While cochlear implants won’t give you perfect hearing, some people who have the procedure may regain near-normal hearing. A small percentage of people who get implants notice minimal benefit. Most can expect to acquire useful hearing ability that falls somewhere between the two extremes.

Post-lingually deafened adults often benefit immediately and continue to dramatically improve for about 6 months after the initial tuning sessions. Hearing performance continues to improve for several years, at a slower rate.
Children may benefit at a slower pace. Considerable training is needed after implantation to help a child use the new 'hearing' he or she now experiences.

Many people who receive cochlear implants gain the ability to:

Distinguish environmental sounds. Patients report that they can identify many different types of sounds, such as footsteps, doors slamming, engines idling, telephones ringing, dogs barking, leaves rustling, birds chirping, and many other sounds.
Understand speech without lip-reading. Even if this level of hearing isn’t possible, the implant usually makes lip-reading easier.
Enjoy music. Some people enjoy the sound of certain instruments (piano or guitar, for example) and certain familiar songs. Other people who receive cochlear implants may not be able to enjoy music.

A few individuals with cochlear implants are even able to:

Use the telephone and understand familiar voices over the phone.

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Resources

For more information about cochlear implants, visit the following Web sites: