Cochlear Implants Surgery

Cochlear implantation is considered to be an important procedure of medicine since the 1970s, which has continued to evolve to achieve amazing results in recent decades. Cochlear implants offer a good solution for patients with hearing problems as a result of cochlear damage (the inner ear), which enables them to partially restore hearing, thus practicing their lives naturally by allowing them to learn pronunciation skills, and facilitating their communication with those around them.

Ear implants have evolved so much that some of them consist of a single unit that is placed away from the ear, so that it is lightweight to comfort the patient more during use, and it can be covered by dropping hair on.

Cochlear implants include the implantation of an electronic device into the ear, containing both internal and external parts, the principle of operation of this device is by receiving sound waves from the outside and processing through a piece installed behind the ear, and then transfer these waves or signals to another piece connected to the previous piece but planted under the skin, so this piece is to transmit the signals received by electrodes extending to reach the cochlea, which motivates the auditory nerve to transfer signals to the brain where they are interpreted into sounds. Although these sounds interpreted by the brain to the patient are not normal, but the brain has the ability to cope with the new sounds emitted through implanted devices.

Cochlear implants may be performed for adults or children alike, but cochlear implants for children who have lost hearing from birth are a priority for ENT specialists, since cochlear implants for these children at an early age can greatly help them keep up with peers who don't have hearing problems, and thus their ability to engage later in school and all other life activities normally.

Treatment in Jordan takes approximately 4 days.

An ENT specialist may use cochlear implants in the following cases:

• When the hearing aids that most patients use to help them to hear are not beneficial.
• Loss of sound clarity in both ears.
• Inability to capture most words while talking to someone else without reading the lips of the speaker, even with the use of hearing aids.

Before the approval of the cochlear implant, the ENT consultant performs a series of tests to verify the possibility of implantation of the cochlear implants for the patient. These tests and procedures include the following:

• Hearing examination of the patient.
• Clinical examination of the patient to detect the inner ear.
• Radiology tests (CT and MRI) of the skull to verify the structure of the inner ear and cochlea.

The implantation of cochlear implants may involve a range of risks and complications, although it is a very safe process. These complications include:

• Swelling or bleeding.
• Infection in the place of implants.
• Loss of full hearing ability due to destruction of the remaining healthy parts of the ear.
• Tinnitus in the ear.
• Dry mouth or a taste change.
• Facial paralysis.
• Feeling balance problems such as dizziness.
• Allergic reactions associated with the anesthesia.

Cochlear implant surgery includes:

Before the surgery, the patient is required to refrain from taking certain medications before a certain period of the surgery, in addition to refraining from food and drink certain hours before the cochlear implant.

1. Anesthetize the patient (General anesthesia).
2. Make a small incision behind the ear in the temporal bone (bone protruding behind the ear), where the interior part of the electronic device is placed under the skin.
3. Make a small hole in the cochlea to pass electrodes emanating from the implanted device behind the ear.
4. Check the efficiency of the device and its ability to work, before closing the slit.
5. Close the incision.

*Cochlear implants are performed using a microscope and take approximately two to four hours.

The ENT surgeon waits approximately 4 to 6 weeks until the wound heals after the surgery; to stabilize the outer part of the device for receiving acoustic and processing waves (it is magnetically attached to the inner subcutaneous piece behind the ear) then the device starts to works after programming it to be suitable for each individual patient.

Post-operative cochlear implants vary depending on the patient, in children; it takes more effort from the family to help with hearing rehabilitation, that the brain takes time to adapt with new sounds which reach the brain after a series of device's adjust sessions. But in the case of adults, it is a little easier; once the implanted electronic device is adjusted, the patient can regain the ability to hear the sounds that he is accustomed to.