Hearing aids simply amplify sound, but if the brain can’t understand the noise it’s just noise. The implant has small fibre optics pushed in to the cochlear to replace the missing hairs that stimulate fluid and send intelligent messages to the brain. The outer part is a computer that is programmed to the frequency of the hearing loss in the individual.

A cochlear implant is very different from a hearing aid. Hearing aids amplify sounds so they may be detected by damaged ears. Cochlear implants bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve.

What is a cochlear implant?

These devices bypass the damaged portion of the inner ear to directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Cochlear implants do not restore hearing, rather, they provide the sensation of sound for those who are deaf or have profound hearing loss.  

There are two main parts to a cochlear implant: external and internal:

• The external component houses a microphone, speech processor and transmitter. A small wire links the microphone and speech processor to the transmitter, which is positioned outside the ear over the receiver.
• The internal component contains a receiver that is implanted under the skin just behind the ear, along with one or more electrode arrays which are implanted deep into the inner ear.