There are several treatment options available for hearing loss, depending on the type and severity. However, with profound hearing loss that is too severe for a hearing aid to be effective, the options have been to either accept a world without hearing or opt for a cochlear implant, which maximizes what remains of the patient’s residual hearing.
How Do They Work?
These incredible devices help to convert sound into electrical impulses that can be processed by your brain to help you hear.
Cochlear implants bypass the damaged sensory hair cells inside the cochlea, stimulating the auditory nerve. For suitable candidates, this allows sounds to be heard more clearly than with a hearing aid.
A cochlear implant may provide access to sounds that you could no longer hear before.
The cochlear device has an external sound processor (the part that looks like a hearing aid) and the implant, which is surgically placed beneath the skin, and attached to a row of electrodes that are inserted in the cochlea.
Available For The First Time
Unfortunately, up until now, residents of the Permian Basin affected by severe hearing loss weren’t able to opt for Cochlear Implants unless they drove into more prominent cities like Lubbock to get treatment. So this is an auspicious day as the first-ever cochlear operation was performed here.
“We have finally have a surgeon in the area that’s doing them which brings it closer to home. So, with him being able to do the surgeries and us being able to take care of the patients afterward now, we’re bringing it all home.” Said audiologist, Dr. Sally Miranda, in an interview with CBS 7.
When traditional hearing aids no longer help, Cochlear implants are an excellent option for people with severe hearing loss – especially those who struggle to adapt to a world without hearing and who cannot adopt ASL for a number of reasons, whether being due to age or disability, etc.
See the heartwarming clip (here) of a resident hearing his first sound in a very long time after his device is turned on for the first time.
We are so grateful to have been a part of this incredible moment! We wish him all the happiness and look forward to sharing in his journey to better hearing.
Reach Out
If you have received little to no benefit from wearing hearing aids or have been hard of hearing since childhood, Cochlear Implants could be for you. If you have any questions about Cochlear Implants or would like an assessment to see if they could be the right choice for you, please get in touch at (432) 689-2220.
