Cochlear Implants :: Hearing Deafness Auditory Essays

Cochlear Implants As the life expectancy of the general population continues to increase, so has the number of people experiencing varying types of perceptual loss. One area of perceptual loss that is gaining more and more recognition is auditory functioning. The number of individuals experiencing a post-lingual hearing loss, or hearing loss after the acquisition of language, is increasing among the older adults in our society. This increase has facilitated a need for a means of managing such a loss of functioning. The group of people affected by hearing loss is by no means strictly limited to older adults. Pre-lingually deaf children and adults, as well as, postlingually deafened individuals can benefit from the technology that is currently being developed and refined for the management of hearing loss. The conventional hearing aid is probably the most common device pictured when thinking in terms of managing hearing loss. However, another option that may not be as well known is the cochlear implant. The cochlear implant is a relatively new option in the management of hearing loss. Cochlear implants amplify sound, code sound into an electrical signal, and send those signals into the auditory nerve. The signal then travels to the auditory brainstem and onward to the temporal lobe of the brain for interpretation. The cochlear implant system consists of internal and external components. The internal components include a receiver, an internal magnet, and an electrode array. During a surgical procedure, a space is made in the mastoid bone behind the ear. This space holds the internal magnet and receiver. The electrode array is then placed in contact with the nerve endings in the cochlea. After implantation surgery, the skin and hair around the incision are allowed to heal for about five weeks. Then the patient is fitted with the external components of the implant. These components include a microphone, an external transmitter coil, cords, and a speech processor. The microphone is attached to the ear by means of an earhook. The microphone picks up sound waves and sends them to the transmitter for convertion into an electrical signal. The transmitter coil is held in place against the patient's head by means of an external magnet that is attracted to the internal magnet. A cord connects the microphone to the transmitter coil. Another cord then connects the microphone to the speech processor. The speech processor contains a software program that determines how sound waves will be coded and transformed into electrical impulses.