Life is Full of Beautiful Sounds
Meridian, Idaho (208) 938-5823
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Meridian, Idaho (208) 938-5823
Patient Portal TELEHEALTH Online Requests Facebook Instagram
Idaho Ear Clinic's Cochlear Implant Team is a dedicated team of hearing specialists who provide the highest level of diagnostic, surgical, and rehabilitation services in all areas of cochlear implantation. The staff consists a board certified neurotologic surgeon, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and insurance reimbursement specialists.
Our philosophy is that the decision to recommend a cochlear implant can only be made by a multi-disciplinary team of specialists and a well informed patient or parent.
To contact Idaho Ear Clinic’s Cochlear Implant team, please call 208-938-5823 and request a cochlear implant evaluation or email ciprogram@idahoear.com.
A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing. The implant consists of an external portion that sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin. An implant has the following parts:
An implant does not restore normal hearing. Instead, it can give a deaf person a useful representation of sounds in the environment and help him or her to understand speech.
A cochlear implant is very different from a hearing aid. Hearing aids amplify sounds so they may be detected by damaged ears. Cochlear implants bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Signals generated by the implant are sent by way of the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes the signals as sound. Hearing through a cochlear implant is different from normal hearing and takes time to learn or relearn. However, it allows many people to recognize warning signals, understand other sounds in the environment, and understand speech in person or over the telephone.
Children and adults who are deaf or severely hard-of-hearing can be fitted for cochlear implants.
For young children who are deaf or severely hard-of-hearing, using a cochlear implant while they are young exposes them to sounds during an optimal period to develop speech and language skills.
Research has shown that when these children receive a cochlear implant followed by intensive therapy before they are 18 months old, they are better able to hear, comprehend sound and music, and speak than their peers who receive implants when they are older. Studies have also shown that eligible children who receive a cochlear implant before 18 months of age develop language skills at a rate comparable to children with normal hearing, and many succeed in mainstream classrooms.
Some adults who have lost all or most of their hearing later in life can also benefit from cochlear implants. They learn to associate the signals from the implant with sounds they remember, including speech, without requiring any visual cues such as those provided by lipreading or sign language.
Use of a cochlear implant requires both a surgical procedure and significant therapy to learn or relearn the sense of hearing. Not everyone performs at the same level with this device. The decision to receive an implant should involve discussions with Dr. Crawford, who is an experienced cochlear-implant surgeon.
The process can be expensive. For example, a person’s health insurance may cover the expense, but not always. Some individuals may choose not to have a cochlear implant for a variety of personal reasons. Surgical implantations are almost always safe, although complications are a risk factor, just as with any kind of surgery. An additional consideration is learning to interpret the sounds created by an implant. This process takes time and practice. Speech-language pathologists and audiologists are frequently involved in this learning process. Prior to implantation, all of these factors need to be considered.
Posted May 18th, 2021
About 2% of adults aged 45 to 54 have disabling hearing loss. The rate increases to 8.5% for adults aged 55 to 64. Nearly 25% of those aged 65 to 74 and 50% of those who are 75 and older have disabling hearing loss. Only about 16% of adults who would benefit from hearing aids have ever even tried hearing aids. Hearing aid technology has progressed – they are incredible little instruments. But they are limited in that they are only able amplify sound. For many, they hearing loss also limits a person’s ability to understand speech. A cochlear implant (CI) is capable of improving speech understanding. When there are so many people that haven’t received hearing aids when they need them, imagine how much more difficult it is to get to the next level – a cochlear implant. It’s been estimated that only 6% of adults who could benefit from a CI have received one.
Posted September 15th, 2021
Hearing loss has been linked to dementia, walking problems, and falls. In addition, it has been shown to contribute to depression and other mental health disorders in the elderly. It causes frustration and lower quality of life for the loved ones of patients with hearing loss. The relationship between hearing loss and these other problems continues to become more apparent and better defined as additional quality research is published. We know that moderate hearing loss triples the likelihood a patient will develop dementia. Patients with severe hearing loss has 5 times the probability of developing dementia.
