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What is a Cochlear Implant?
A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing or has not received any benefit from hearing aids. The cochlear implant is often referred to as a bionic ear.

Cochlear implants have two parts-

• External (outside) parts that include a microphone, a speech processor, and a transmitter.
  
  
• Internal (surgically implanted) parts - a receiver-stimulating system fixed to the skull bone behind the ear and electrodes which are inserted into the cochlea.

It is important to note that a cochlear implant does not restore normal hearing. Instead, it provides a deaf person with a useful representation of sounds in the environment to help him or her understand them.

1. Adults who have acquired speech but have become deaf secondary due to injury, illness or ototoxicity.
   
   
2. The deafness must be of sensorineural type (i.e. a hearing impairment of the inner ear resulting from damage to the sensory hair cells or to the nerves that supply the inner ear) affecting both the ears and the hearing aid must have been used (adults) for a period of 3 - 6 months with very little or no help.
   
   
3. Having a functioning auditory nerve.
   
   
4. Having no medical reason to avoid surgery.
   
   
5. Congenital deaf children with speech disability.
   
   
6. Children who have acquired some speech then lose the sense of hearing following head injury, viral illness or meningitis etc.

Cochlear implants bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Signals generated by the implant are sent by way of the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes the signals as sound. Hearing through a cochlear implant is different from normal hearing and takes time to learn or relearn. However, it allows many people to recognize warning signals, understand other sounds in the environment, and go to a regular school and enjoy a conversation in person or by telephone.

Comprehensive Cochlear Implantation Program at SafeMedTrip affiliated Indian Hospitals and have highly specialized and fully trained multidisciplinary team of medical professionals which consists of:
1. ENT surgical team
2. Neuro psychologist
3. Audiologist
4. Speech Therapist
5. Paediatrician

There are various factors that need to be taken into consideration prior to cochlear implantation. Patients who may be candidates for cochlear implantation would have met with their audiologist and ENT(Hearing implant) Surgeon and the team would decide the best option for the candidate.

• 
  Audiological assessment and trial with hearing aids. To assess the severity of the hearing loss, level of speech and language.
  
  
• CT and MRI Imaging - Complete scanning would be done of the ears and brain. We need to see the structure of the ears and the condition of the inner ear and hearing nerves.
  Medical Check up including preoperative blood tests.
  
  
• Patients would also be seen by a physician or paediatrician (in the cases of children) and vaccinated to reduce the risk of infections.

  you get a free and complete step by step guidance on Medical travel for your Cochlear Implant Surgery in India.

Cochlear implant surgery lasts about two hours and is performed while the patient is under general anaesthesia. The electrode array is inserted into the cochlea. The receiver/stimulator is secured to the skull. Typically, patients remain in the hospital for two nights. They have a bandage on their head which is removed after four days. Patients return to school or work as soon as they feel well enough to do so, usually within a week of surgery.

Switching on the implant

Activation of the implant takes place two to three weeks after implantation, allowing enough time for the incision to heal properly. Following this the implant is 'programmed' or 'mapped'. Mapping is done on a regular basis during postoperative rehabilitation to fine-tune the processor and get the best performance as the patient gets used to hearing with the implant.