Most people lose their hearings to some degrees as they age. If you think that you might have a hearing problem, see your doctor to have it checked. You might have a hearing loss if you: often ask people to repeat themselves; hear ringing in your ears; have trouble hearing when there’s noise in the [...]

Use of a cochlear implant requires both a surgical procedure and significant therapy to learn or relearn the sense of hearing. Not everyone performs at the same level with this device. The decision to receive an implant should involve discussions with medical specialists, including an experienced cochlear-implant surgeon. The process can be expensive. For example, [...]

Children and adults who are deaf or severely hard-of-hearing can be fitted for cochlear implants. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), at the end of 2006, more than 112,000 people worldwide had received implants. In the United States, roughly 23,000 adults and 15,500 children have received them. Adults who have lost all or [...]

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. Signals generated by the implant are sent by way of the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes the [...]

A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing. The implant consists of an external portion that sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin (see figure). An implant [...]

Your doctor can recommend strategies to help reduce the effects of a hearing loss. Scientists are studying ways to develop new, more effective methods to treat and prevent hearing loss. Many people who have a hearing loss wear a hearing aid. A hearing aid is an electronic, battery-operated device that makes sounds louder to the [...]

If your hearing loss is severe and of a certain type, your doctor may suggest that you talk to a surgeon who specializes in ear, nose, and throat diseases, called an otolaryngologist, about a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant is a small electronic device that the surgeon places under the skin and behind the ear. [...]

Other devices also can help you hear in certain listening environments. TV listening systems help you listen to the television or the radio without being bothered by other noises around you. Some hearing aids can be plugged into TVs, stereos, microphones, and personal FM systems to help you hear better. Some telephones work with certain [...]