Your Trusted Clinic in Spring, TX for Cochlear Hearing Implants
In most cases, hearing aids provide the best solution to overcoming hearing challenges. However, some people simply don’t get enough help from hearing aids to enjoy the improved quality of life that comes from better hearing.
For those cases, hearing care professionals look to electronic implants as an alternative solution.
Cochlear implants, whether in one ear (unilateral) or both ears (bilateral), are designed to improve hearing clarity, elevate speech, and enhance language-processing capabilities in individuals of all ages.
North Houston Hearing Solutions provides cochlear implant technology as an advanced solution to improve communication and hearing clarity for those who need a little help.
Electronic implant technology has been around since the 1970s, but most people don’t fully understand what it is and how it helps improve hearing.
What Is a Cochlear Implant?
The cochlea, located in the inner ear, has hair cells that receive sound from the outer and middle ear. These hair cells change sound into electronic signals and then transmit them to the brain, where they are interpreted as meaningful sound via the auditory nerve.
Damage to the hair cells causes permanent sensorineural hearing loss, which can be helped by hearing aids. But when damage in the cochlea is extensive or sound does not make it to the inner ear due to conductive hearing loss issues, a cochlear implant can bypass the damaged sound pathway to deliver the electrical impulses (sound signals) to the auditory nerve.
There are two components to an electronic implant or cochlear implant:
1. A processing unit worn behind the ear, similar in appearance to a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid
2. An internal electrode that requires cochlear implant surgery to be inserted into the cochlea
The BTE processor has a microphone that receives the sounds around you, processes them into sound signals, and then transmits them to the implanted electrode.
Cochlear implants were cutting-edge technology in the 1970s when they first received FDA approval, but digital technology has greatly enhanced the capabilities of today’s cochlear implants, which far exceed what was possible with early electronic implants.
Whether used with hearing aids or as an alternative solution, cochlear implants are an advanced tool designed to help adults and children overcome severe hearing challenges when hearing aids alone are not enough.
Ten Myths and Facts About Cochlear Implants
Myth #1 - They’re only for young people
There is a common misconception that cochlear implants are only for young people. However, studies indicate that older hearing implant recipients also enjoy significant improvements in speech perception.
Myth #2 - They require brain surgery
Brain surgery is not part of getting an electronic implant. The implant sits just under the skin behind the ear and the electrode portion is inserted into the cochlea. Your surgeon won’t even go near your brain.
Myth #3 - You can’t have an MRI
Modern, multichannel hearing implants allow for the use of diagnostic MRIs at 1.5 Tesla, while some magnet-style cochlear implants even allow for MRIs at up to 3.0 Tesla.
Myth #4 - Implants destroy any hearing you have left
Cochlear implants do not destroy whatever hearing you have left. Today’s devices have soft and flexible electrodes designed to preserve delicate inner ear structures, and in combination with ever-improving surgical techniques, they help maintain residual hearing.
Myth #5 - You can’t go in water
Individuals with electronic implants can shower, enjoy a sauna or hot tub, or go swimming, since the implant sits under skin and is protected from water. The exterior processor, on the other hand, must be removed or be covered with waterproof material before being submerged, as most are only splash-proof.
Myth #6 - You can’t listen to music
Cochlear implant users are able to enjoy listening to music. Many are even talented musicians, though it takes extensive rehabilitation and practice to be able to get the most out of music when using a hearing implant.
Myth #7 - Wi-Fi messes them up
Contrary to some misconceptions about cochlear implants, Wi-Fi devices don’t affect electronic implants or their audio processors, so you won’t need to worry about being near them.
Myth #8 - You have to have another surgery to upgrade
The implanted electrode component is designed for a long service life and won’t need to be replaced for decades. Upgrades to electronic implants involve the external audio processor, which is easily removed and replaced to let you take advantage of the latest technology.
Myth #9 - You can’t fly if you have an electronic implant
Flying with a cochlear implant is not a problem. You will just want to alert airport security that you wear an implant because they can set off security scanners.
Myth #10 - Cochlear implants are an instant fix for your hearing challenges
There is no instant fix for any hearing challenge. Implant activation takes place a few weeks after cochlear implant surgery, and you will undergo weeks of rehabilitation and practice to hear with a hearing implant.
Join Our Delighted Patients
Get More Information About Cochlear Implants
Our audiologists at North Houston Hearing Solutions use cochlear implants as an advanced tool for helping improve the hearing and quality of life for those in our community who qualify for them.
If you need more information about cochlear implants and/or want to know if you qualify for them, submit the adjacent form and a member of our team will contact you to respond to your questions.
Don’t want to wait? Call us at: 346-482-4100
Meet Your Team
Dr. Lacy D. Robinson
DOCTOR OF AUDIOLOGY & LYRIC SPECIALIST
Norma A. Aguilera
Hearing Instrument Specialist
Dr. Angela F. Poe
DOCTOR OF AUDIOLOGY
Dr. Lacey Brooks
DOCTOR OF AUDIOLOGY & TINNITUS SPECIALIST
