If a child is hearing impaired, has nerve damage, is a cochlear implant a possiblity? Or not even possible?

Answer 1

This is a helpful article:

Different types of deaf and severely hard of hearing people choose cochlear implants. Both children and adults can be candidates for implants. According to the Food and Drug Administration 2005 data, nearly 100,000 people worldwide have received implants. In the United States, roughly 22,000 adults and nearly 15,000 children have received them.

Adults who have lost all or most of their hearing later in life can often benefit from cochlear implants. These older candidates can often associate the sounds made through an implant with sounds they remember. This may help them to understand speech without visual cues or systems such as lipreading or sign language.

Young children can also be candidates for implants. Cochlear implants, coupled with intensive post-implantation therapy, can help young children to acquire speech, language, developmental, and social skills. The best age for implantation is still being debated, but most children who receive implants are between 2 and 6 years old. Earlier implantation seems to perform better.

Answer 2

A cochlear implant is a device that is used for people who have lost hearing in both ears. There is a battery of tests that is used to determine if your child is a candidate for a cochlear implant. Generally, hearing aids in both ears must be tried for at least 6 months before it is decided that an implant is going to help. Here is a website that has a lot of information on cochlear implants.

The hearing loss is most commonly caused by problems in the inner ear and not the nerve itself (even though they call it "nerve loss").

Answer 3

"nerve damage" is a commonly used, but inaccurate, term for sensorineural hearing loss. Most sensorineural hearing losses are due to cochlear impairment, not nerve damage, which is why the cochlear implant was developed.

In the process of implantation the cochlea is destroyed, so only those with profound hearing loss that cannot benefit from hearing aids are considered candidates.

If there is actual damage to the acoustic nerve, such as an acoustic neuroma, the implant is not an option.

Here's some more info:
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/coch.asp

Answer 4

Yes and no. It all comes down to if the auditory nerve is the nerve in question. Cochlear implants work by taking sound and converting them into electrical signals. Once the sound has been converted into these electrical impulses, then they are transmitted to a receiver located inside the person's head. From there, the electrical impulses travel down a wire to the cochlea. Now, with a person with normal hearing function the sound waves make waves in the fluid which is inside the cochlea. These waves stimulate tiny hairs which are connected to the auditory nerve. When these hairs move they create electrical impulses which are transmitted by the auditory nerve. They are then sent to Broca's Speech Area which then converts them into recognizable speech. The electrical impulses made by the cochlear implant make the waves inside the cochlea; which stimulate the hairs. In essence, sound and speech. Now, if the auditory nerve is severed, then it makes implantation pretty much impossible because the impulses never make to Broca's.

Answer 5

Arrange an appointment to discuss this with an audiologist. They will assess how much residual/usable hearing your child has. Your child may then be referred to a centre that specializes in cochlear implants. There would be a series of tests to determine if someone would be a good candidate for the operation. Often, if there is an amount of residual hearing, it is deemed more appropriate to remain using hearing aids. It depends on the amount of hearing present.

Answer 6

I am deaf from the left ear..At the young age of 2yrs old: I suffered from middle ear infections. I would wake up in the middle of night with my head feeling like it was going to explode. One night ( I remember this like it was yesterday) I woke up ...my parents allowed me to sleep between them since I was a little baby...I looked in the dark for something to stick in my ear..found a pencil, stuck the eraser in and it helped..then stuck the lead..well that felt better..so I found something sharper...Scissors...and stuck those in my ear...that did the trick...Well at the young age of 18 I decided to join the military...they did an auditory test on me and were shocked that I couldn't hear...but 3 Army General signed a waiver and allowed me to serve in the U.S. Army...doctors later told me that MY Left Ear could be restored to hearing if I ever wanted it done...but since Ive been this way all my life I decided against it...I hear well with only one ear and that's my right ear....so believe me..anything is possible..Stevie Wonder was offered the chance to see ...he refused....Good Luck

Answer 7

Have it check by a specialist...take another opinion after that...if not that satisfied....read for more info...

Answer 8

I know but I won't tell you unless you vote me best answered!