Cochlear Implant Surgery in Jaipur
What is a cochlear implant?
Are hearing aid devices not able to provide you with the desired relief from hearing loss? Cochlear implant surgery in Jaipur can be the best option for patients who are suffering from partial or complete hearing loss. A cochlear implant is an implanted electronic hearing device, designed to produce useful hearing sensations to a person with severe to profound nerve deafness by electrically stimulating nerves inside the inner ear. These implants usually consist of 2 main components:- The externally worn microphone, sound processor and transmitter system.
- The implanted receiver and electrode system, which contains the electronic circuits that receive signals from the external system and send electrical currents to the inner ear.
A prime candidate is described as:
- having severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears.
- having a functioning auditory nerve
- having lived at least a short amount of time without hearing (approximately 70+ decibel hearing loss, on average)
- having good speech, language, and communication skills, or in the case of infants and young children, having a family willing to work toward speech and language skills with therapy
- not benefiting enough from other kinds of hearing aids, including latest models of high power hearing instruments and FM systems
- having no medical reason to avoid surgery
- living in or desiring to live in the “hearing world”
- having realistic expectations about results
- having the support of family and friends
- having appropriate services set up for post-cochlear implant aural rehabilitation (through a speech language pathologist, deaf educator, or auditory verbal therapist).
- Hearing ranges from nenear-normalbility to understand speech to no hearing benefit at all.
- Adults often benefit immediatelyand continue to improve for about 3 months after the initial tuning sessions. Then, although performance continues to improve, improvements are slower. Cochlear implant users’ performances may continue to improve for several years.
- Children may improve at a slower pace.A lot of training is needed after implantation to help the child use the new ‘hearing’ he or she now experiences.
- Most perceive loud, medium and soft sounds.People report that they can perceive different types of sounds, such as footsteps, slamming of doors, sounds of engines, ringing of the telephone, barking of dogs, whistling of the tea kettle, rustling of leaves, the sound of a light switch being switched on and off, and so on.
- Many understand speech without lip-reading.However, even if this is not possible, using the implant helps lip-reading.
- Many can make telephone callsand understand familiar voices over the telephone. Some good performers can make normal telephone calls and even understand an unfamiliar speaker. However, not all people who have implants are able to use the phone.
- Many can watch TV more easily,especially when they can also see the speaker’s face. However, listening to the radio is often more difficult as there are no visual cues available.
- Some can enjoy music. Some enjoy the sound of certain instruments (piano or guitar, for example) and certain voices. Others do not hear well enough to enjoy music.
A cochlear implant receives sound from the outside environment, processes it, and sends small electric currents near the auditory nerve. These electric currents activate the nerve, which then sends a signal to the brain. The brain learns to recognize this signal and the person experiences this as “hearing”. The cochlear implant somewhat simulates natural hearing, where sound creates an electric current that stimulates the auditory nerve. However, the result is not the same as normal hearing.
For patients who experience severe hearing loss, cochlear implant surgery can provide significant benefits in terms of improved quality of life and better communication with people. In the case of children and infants, lateral cochlear implants are recommended as the best treatment option so that they can overcome language and speech-related difficulties.
The procedure for Cochlear implant surgery in Jaipur is undertaken after the complete examination of the patient to ensure whether the surgery can provide the needful results to the patient or not. Several tests can be performed to evaluate the hearing, speech, and balancing abilities of the patient.
During the surgical procedure for cochlear implantation, an incision will be made behind the ear to create a small depression in the skull bone. This is done to place the internal device. Thereafter, a tiny hole is made in the cochlea region to pass the electrode array of the internal device. Finally, the infernal devices rest under the skin as the incision made is closed through stitches. After the completion of the procedure, the patient can experience dizziness or nausea or can feel discomfort due to the implant in the ear.
Rehabilitation after cochlear implant surgery is also an important component of the treatment procedure for hearing loss. This enables the brain to hear and develop the necessary understanding of different types of sounds, such as those belonging to the environment and speech. The rehabilitation is crucial as it assists the brain in identifying sounds after the surgery. The process can benefit in the long term if the patient continues to wear a speech processor regularly especially when the patient is awake.
In addition to this, the outcomes of the Cochlear implant surgery in Jaipur vary from patient to patient. Age can be observed as a major factor that impacts the results of the surgery as it depends on when the hearing was lost and the time gap between the cochlear implantation and the time duration for which the hearing disability was not treated. The children highly benefited from this surgery as the procedure is undertaken at a tender age.