International Cochlear Implant Day: Everything You Need To Know
Hearing is essential for cognitive development and social development, but there are chronic problems associated with this ability. There is also an alternative called a ‘cochlear implant’. Get to know it!
Hearing loss, partial deafness or hearing loss is a problem that does not distinguish between young people and adults. Therefore, it limits the quality of life of people from socialization and learning, causing discouragement and depression. This is the starting point for the birth of the International Cochlear Implant Day, commemorated on February 25.
To solve all the doubts that surround this day and the implementation of the hearing device, we will talk about what the cochlear implant is, the birth of the day, who requires such a tool and how it improves people’s lives. We started!
What is a cochlear implant?
The cochlear implant is a prosthesis or device that partially restores hearing ability. How do you get it? Through the transformation of acoustic signals into electrical signals that are transferred directly to the vestibulocochlear, statoacoustic or auditory nerve.
The total structure of the prosthesis consists of 2 parts:
- Internal: receptor or stimulator.
- External: microphone, processor and transmitter or coil.
Specifically, on the inside it is established within the skull, while on the outside the location is behind the pinna.
Entering the operating sequence, the microphone captures the sound and sends it to the processor that reads, understands and interprets the signals. The information then reaches the transmitter and takes it to the receiver. In the receptor, the cycle is closed with the emission of electrical signals that stimulate the auditory nerve.
Historical facts about the cochlear implant
The reason that February 25 was selected as the International Cochlear Implant Day is related to the year 1957 and doctors Charles Eyries and André Djourno. However, its celebration as such began in 2009.
It all happened in France, in the middle of work to improve the hearing capacity of patients, when they incorporated a copper wire in a person who had a disheartening diagnosis of total deafness. The result? Well, the person managed to capture the sequence of language.
This made way for the perfected implant that took place years later. Some of the later advances were by W. House with the inclusion of a gold electrode in the cochlea. Also GM Clark in Australia, who gave Rod Sounders cochlear implant research more confidence in 1978.
Who requires a cochlear implant?
The relevance of the cochlear implant, which international organizations have wanted to make visible in the past under the slogan “Don’t let hearing loss limit you, listen for life” , is based on its being used by those who require it.
In that sense, the appropriate use cases are as follows:
- People with minimal or no hearing capacity: as long as you do not get a favorable change with hearing aids. To this end, those who notice an evolution in their sound perception through the latter are not suitable for the cochlear implant.
- It becomes impossible to understand speech: if there are extensive difficulties in understanding speech and communication, it has deteriorated to a great extent.
- Older adults with hearing loss: applies in circumstances in which deafness worsens as the years go by and the possibility of interpreting what is transmitted is lost.
- People with severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss: it is the lack of hearing due to serious damage to the auditory nerve.
On the other hand, the way to define who requires and can undergo a surgical procedure of this nature goes through some studies. Previous analyzes include the following:
- Audiometry.
- Tomography.
- Psychological test.
- Magnetic resonance.
Reasons why the cochlear implant improves quality of life
With the International Cochlear Implant Day we want to reach people who suffer from hearing problems in order to increase their quality of life. Thus, we tell you what are the reasons why the medical device promotes the development of those affected.
Improved learning in children
The absence of hearing alters infants’ understanding of the world and can slow down their learning. In this way, the cochlear implant improves the internalization of knowledge, memory and language.
And while this increase in capabilities may be slow for those who haven’t listened before, the changes are remarkable.
Ability to make phone calls
The communication possibilities extend to telephone calls, since it is possible, in some patients, to understand oral language without the need to see the other person’s lips as a support for understanding.
Enjoy the music and the voices
The experience of listening to all kinds of music and enjoying the voices of singers is normalized. In turn, recreational options are increased and stress can be channeled into different spaces that are very useful for their emotional health.
Improved speech control
There are critical conditions in which the cochlear implant cannot make the person regain most of the perceived acoustic normality. However, a great contribution is in the improved control of speech, which results in the people in his environment being able to understand without major inconveniences what he wants to express.
Increased confidence
Fears associated with miscommunication or incoherent word stringing are reduced. Ultimately, confidence increases, which affects both behavior and happiness and performance in many activities. There are plenty of reasons to highlight International Cochlear Implant Day.
Regaining independence
According to what the National Library of Medicine of the United States explains, the cochlear implant in adult life has effects on the independence of people. In other words, security is regained in the execution of basic activities of social interaction, in the clear expression and in the planning of life projects.
International Cochlear Implant Day: technology and medicine
International Cochlear Implant Day is a reminder that the advancement of medicine together with technology makes the quality of life improve regardless of the disability that is present.
It is recommended that all people who go to the cochlear implant as a solution, first know in depth the step by step of the surgery, the risks that exist and how the final recovery process occurs. Listening is communicating!
