Cochlear implants are very advanced electronic devices used in hearing rehabilitation of patients with severe hearing loss who cannot benefit from hearing aids. These devices convert sound energy into electrical energy and directly stimulate the auditory nerve in the inner ear, allowing the person to hear again. Cochlear implants consist of two main parts. It consists of an inner piece that is surgically placed inside the ear and an outer piece that is attached behind the ear, just like a hearing aid. The outer part and the inner part come into contact with a magnet system.
The cochlear implant takes over the function of the hearing organ in the inner ear. Therefore, in order for cochlear implant surgery to be performed, the patient must have an inner ear where the implant can be placed and a healthy auditory nerve.
Hearing is very important for language and language development. Normal hearing is necessary for a person to understand what is being said and to learn to speak. That's why rapid rehabilitation of hearing is very important in children with hearing loss.
WHO SHOULD A COCHLEAR IMPLANT BE INSTALLED
Those with severe congenital hearing loss: Early hearing loss in children with congenital hearing loss. Diagnosis is very important. Because there is a critical period for children's language and language development. During this period, he is around 2 years old. Therefore, the ideal surgery time for babies with severe hearing loss is around 1 year of age. The probability of obtaining near-normal hearing and language development in children who have cochlear implant surgery at the age of 1 is over 95%. The results of surgeries performed between the ages of 1-2 are extremely satisfactory. After the age of 2, the success rate begins to decrease. Around the age of 4 is considered the critical age. Because it is not possible to achieve success when cochlear implants are applied after the age of 4 in children with congenital hearing loss and no language development. There is only one exception to this situation. If the child is over 4 years old but has some language development, then there may be a chance of benefiting from a cochlear implant.
Hearing losses that occur later: in adults and children who have completed language and language development. advanced hearing loss Cochlear implant surgeries are also performed in cases of damage. In fact, this group is the group that benefits most from cochlear implants. If surgery is performed shortly after hearing loss occurs, these people will regain their hearing from the first use of the device and can generally understand what is being said. However, the passage of many years will reduce the success of the implant. If more than 10 years have passed since the hearing loss occurred, the chances of these people benefiting from the implant are greatly reduced. For this reason, surgeries should be performed as soon as possible.
WHAT IS THE COCHLEAR IMPLANTATION PROCESS IN A BABY WITH HEARING LOSS?
A baby with hearing loss should immediately start using a hearing aid and start a training program. is started. The baby is taken into the cochlear implantation program and monitored. If it is understood that the baby does not benefit sufficiently from the hearing aid around the age of 1, the baby undergoes surgery and a cochlear implant is placed. Approximately 1 month after the surgery, the device is activated and settings are made by attaching the external part. These children need to receive special education for language and language development.
TO WHOM COCHLEAR IMPLANT SURGERY CANNOT BE PERFORMED
It is not performed on people who benefit from hearing aids despite having hearing loss.
It is not performed on people whose inner ear structure is severely damaged and/or who do not have an auditory nerve (brainstem implant is applied to these patients).
Hearing from birth. It is not performed on children with hearing loss who are older than 5-6 years and have no language development.
It is not performed on people who develop hearing loss in adulthood and who have experienced hearing loss for more than 10-15 years.
ARE THERE RISKS IN COCHLEAR IMPLANT SURGERY
All surgical procedures have certain risks. Of course, cochlear implant surgery has some risks. These are:
-
Risks related to anesthesia: These are very rare situations and are at the same rate as the risks of any surgery.
-
Risk of facial paralysis: Facial paralysis may very rarely occur due to the facial nerve passing through the surgical area. This rate is less than 1%
-
Cerebral fluid leakage: Since the inner ear is opened during surgery, surgery is rarely required in patients. Cerebral fluid leakage may occur after treatment. This problem occurs mostly in patients with defects in the inner ear structure.
-
Development of meningitis. There is a very rare risk of developing postoperative meningitis in these patients due to the opening of the inner ear. For this reason, all cochlear implant patients are vaccinated before surgery to protect against meningitis
Read: 0
