What is a cochlear implant?
Cochlear implants are devices that are surgically implanted to bypass damaged hair cells in the ear and deliver electrical stimulation directly to the auditory nerve, allowing people who are severely deaf or profoundly hard-of-hearing to hear. It’s most useful for people who can’t be helped with a standard hearing aid.
Cochlear implants differ from hearing aids because they do more than amplify sounds. Instead, they generate an electrical signal that the brain can interpret as sound. This signal is created by a device that sits behind the ear, which consists of a microphone, speech processor, and transmitter. These work together with the internal components of the implant. Cochlear implants can help people with severe hearing loss or deafness to hear sounds and understand speech better.
