Candidates for cochlear implants are thoroughly evaluated, including being seen by a surgeon. If everything checks out, they can receive the two-part implant in a procedure that takes two to three hours and go home the same day.
“The implant itself gets surgically inserted behind the ear, and the speech processor is attached outside by a magnet,” Dr. Chennupati says. “The implant jump-starts the cochlea, the organ of hearing, while the processor picks up the sound and codes it. The two devices work together to tell what electrical signals to send to the brain.”
Several weeks after the surgery, the patient meets with an audiologist to have the implant activated.
“We check on the surgical site and assess the fit,” says Barry Veet, AUD, with LVPG Pediatric Ear, Nose and Throat, who worked with all three of the family’s children. “We turn on the implant and adjust the volume to make sure there is sound awareness – you don’t get speech clarity right away.”