What are "cochlear implants"?

What are "cochlear implants"?

Jason Hamilton (Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon) gives expert video advice on: What should I do if I suffer a sudden hearing loss?; How does excessive noise affect my hearing?; Which diseases or illnesses can cause hearing impairment? and more...

The success of cochlear implants depends largely on 1) when the patient became deaf and 2) Their language and speech skills when they became deaf. The most successful cochlear implantations are done on either children who are less than one years old or adults who have lost their hearing, either from some trauma or infection. The adults do very well because they've heard before in their lifetime and their speech is well developed so they don't have to relearn or regain those things. Children who have learned sign language and then they received implants, maybe in elementary school or middle school level usually have alot of problems assimilating the sounds and learning language because they have adapted ianother system already. In the hearing impaired community, cochlear implants are a touchy subject because alot of deaf parents don't necessarily feel that their children should have to hear because they don't necessarily see it as a handicap. They feel that the medical society is looking at them like they have a handicap and they are able to communicate, as far as they are concerned, with sign language or other methods.