Audiology
Treatment
How The Procedure Is Done
Cochlear implant surgery is performed while the patient is under general anesthesia and takes approximately 3 to 4 hours. It involves:
- Making an incision behind the ear
- Forming a slight depression in the mastoid bone, where the internal part of the device is placed
- Creating a small hole in the cochlea
- Threading the electrodes from the internal device through the hole
- Closing the incision, leaving the internal device beneath the skin
Follow-Up After Surgery
About a month after surgery, the patient has a follow-up appointment with the audiologist and receives the external speech processor and microphone. These external components are connected to the surgically implanted electrodes via a magnet. Then, the audiologist fine-tunes (tunes-up) the implant, making sound audible.
Learn More
- What are Cochlear Implants?
- How Cochlear Implants Work
- Benefits of Cochlear Implants
- Criteria For Getting Cochlear Implants
Resources
For more information about cochlear implants, visit the following Web sites:
- Cochlear
- Advanced Bionics Corporation
- The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- National Academy of Sciences: Short history of the cochlear implant