Bilateral Cochlear Implants

Since the advent of cochlear implants, a lot of deaf people and those suffering from sensorineural hearing loss, who have undergone the surgical cochlear implant procedure, are enjoying what has been left of their sense of hearing. The implants do not restore normal hearing however, it provides the recipient with some representations of sounds around him or her. It usually takes some time before anyone can get used to hearing through cochlear implants, but with a lot of exposure and practice, the recipient will definitely enjoy a lot of hearing benefits in no time.

The normal procedure only has one cochlear implant surgically implanted in the inner ear of the recipient. It works by picking up sounds from the environment, selecting and arranging the sounds, then converting the arranged sounds into electric impulses, and lastly, sending these electric impulses to the different regions of the auditory nerve. What the deaf person hears are some useful representation of sounds in his surroundings helping him to understand speech better.

There are a lot of benefits recipients get from using a single cochlear implant. Some deaf patients even opt to have another surgical procedure of putting another cochlear implant in their other ear. Having two cochlear implants is called bilateral cochlear implants. A simultaneous operation includes putting both implants in a single procedure. Bilateral cochlear implants enhances the many benefits of having a single implant, it simply improves them.

Recipients can now listen with two ears after a bilateral cochlear implant procedure and makes it easier to hear speech and other sounds. Listeners recognize softer sound levels when the same sound is heard from both sides of the head and they do not have to position themselves as to where the sound is coming from in order to hear clearly, since both sides of the cochlear implants capture the sounds surrounding them. They can also communicate with ease even when they experience a lot of background noise. This is made possible because binaural hearing allows listeners to focus on a single speaker therefore, filtering out much of the unwanted background noise. It also allows recipients to identify where the warning signals are coming from, making them safer in their everyday environment.

Some patients may be concerned about future medical advancements when it comes to cochlear implants. This makes them skeptical of getting another implant for their other ear. However, bilateral cochlear implants are the best remedy for people suffering from deafness or sensorineural hearing loss. Getting the most benefits out of these implants are indeed priceless.