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. The cochlear implant is often referred to as a bionic ear. Unlike hearing aids, the cochlear implant does not amplify sound, but works by directly stimulating any functioning auditory nerves inside the cochlea with electrical impulses. External components of the cochlear implant include a microphone, speech processor and transmitter which also allows an individual to adjust the sound for quality and amplification.
Overview
According to researchers at the University of Michigan, approximately 100,000 people worldwide have received cochlear implants, with recipients split almost evenly between children and adults. The vast majority are in developed countries due to the high cost of the device, surgery and post-implantation therapy — Mexico had performed only 55 cochlear implant operations by the year 2000 (Berruecos 2000). China will be having 15,000 cochlear implant surgeries on children, which are being paid for by a Taiwanese philanthropist. There is concern that the follow-up services in China are not adequate to meet the needs of cochlear implanted children. A small percentage of those now have bilateral implants, or one on each cochlea. Bilateral cochlear implants are a growing trend globally, Cochlear Americas reported that 15% of their 2006 sales in the United States were for bilateral implants.
Individuals who have acquired deafblindness (loss of hearing and vision combined) may find cochlear implants a radical improvement in their daily life. It may provide them with more information for safety, communication, balance, orientation and mobility and promote interaction within their environment and with other people, reducing isolation. Having more auditory information that they may be familiar with may provide them independent gathering of information to become more independent.
The implant often gives recipients additional auditory information, which may include sound discrimination fine enough to understand speech in quiet environments. Though sufficient, and quality, post-implantation rehabilitative therapy is a critical factor affecting the success rate.
The introduction of cochlear implants has seen the renewal of a century-old debate about models of deafness that often pits hearing parents of deaf children against the Deaf community. There is debate whether Cochlear implants are ethically sound; see Ethics below.
History
The discovery that electrical stimulation to the auditory system can create a perception of sound occurred around 1790, when Alessandro Volta (the developer of the electric battery) placed metal rods in his own ears and connected them to a 50-volt circuit, experiencing a jolt and hearing a noise "like a thick boiling soup". Other experiments occurred sporadically, until electrical (sound-amplifying) hearing aids began to be developed in earnest in the 20th century.
The first direct stimulation of an acoustic nerve with an electrode was performed in the 1950s by the French-Algerian surgeons André Djourno and Charles Eyriès. They placed wires on nerves exposed during an operation, and reported that the patient heard sounds like "a roulette wheel" and "a cricket" when a current was applied.
In 1961, American doctor William F. House of House Ear Institute and House Ear Clinic had Djourno's paper translated and had devices made which he implanted into three patients. In 1969 he created the first wearable implant. House's technology used a single electrode and was designed to aid lip-reading. Throughout the 1970s, University Of Melbourne researcher Graeme Clark, initially inspired to develop an artificial hearing device through his deaf father, developed implants which stimulated the cochlea at multiple points, and on the 1st of August, 1978, Melbourne resident Rod Saunders was implanted with the first Australian multi-channel cochlear implant. Although other multi-channel implants had been performed since 1964, this marked the beginning of one of the most successful.
Famous recipients of cochlear implants include: Jack Ashley, British Member of Parliament, Foxy Brown, Rush Limbaugh, Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995, Sigrid Cerf, wife of the creator of TCP/IP and Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf, has two cochlear implants. Vint Cerf has a hearing impairment himself, and has spoken in support of the Hear and Say Centre, a cochlear implant and speech training organisation based in Brisbane, Australia. Reese Benton, the son of Dr. Peter Benton. The Young and The Restless, Neil and Drusilla Winters' adoptive son Devon lost his hearing due to meningitis and got a cochlear implant so he could hear again. Actress Amy Ecklund of the long running soap opera Guiding Light received a cochlear implant in 1999. It was later written into the show.
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About Loud Shirt Dayby newrealm06969 views
So if you're Deaf then you're basically dull, boring, and "grey". BUT if you get a CI then you'll be exciting, vibrant, and colourful. soooooo soooo wrong. my "WTF?!" stamp isn't quite big enough for this one!
WHATtheFOSS 4 months ago
Aww how cute :)
JohnnoBrah 3 years ago
This kid is sooooo cute - HOORAY!
carvarelalos1 3 years ago
Every word this kid says sounds the same. Should have got the kid from the HBA ad to do it!
ke70hibino 3 years ago