How Does a Cochlear Implant Work?

Well, I had my pre-op appointment with my doctor yesterday. He looked over my CT scans and file and is very excited about the surgery. Dr. Benson is kind, personable and enthusiastically wants to help his patients. He answered all my questions and made sure I was ready for the surgery. I am in good hands.

OK, so I am a teacher. Expect to be educated once in a while on this blog. I have found that many people have heard of cochlear implants, but they do not understand what they are or how they work. My device is a Cochlear Nucleus 5. The Cochlear website has a terrific explanation of the components of a cochlear implant and how it works. Please check out this link to learn more of how it works. It is truly a miracle of science!

How does a cochlear implant work?

The surgery will take two to three hours. He will make a cut behind my ear to insert the electrode into the cochlea and the magnet under the skin behind my ear. I will be bandaged up in a tight bandage and sent home. It is an outpatient procedure. I will have to return for a check up the following day to have the bandage removed. Of course my vanity had me ask how long I had to wait to wash my hair. Three days. UGH! If you see me anytime next weekend, don't expect Beauty. I will more likely be The Beast. Dr. Benson said I would have some pain, funny tastes in my mouth, and possible bloody noses. Following surgery, I will have to wait four weeks before the device can be activated so that the nerves in my ear can heal. During that time and whenever I am not wearing the sound processor, I will be completely deaf in my right ear. After my device is activated, I will wear the external sound processor, which looks much like a hearing aid, to be able to hear. I will have many mapping appointments with my audiologist to program the device for my best hearing. I will be able to control programs, volume, etc. from a remote. When my children get too noisy, I can just take off my sound processor and enjoy peace and quiet!