Cochlear Implants

When should you consider a cochlear implant?

Cochlear implants are a hearing solution for patients who cannot benefit from appropriately fit hearing aids. Traditionally, cochlear implants were offered only to patients with severe to profound hearing loss, but as technology has improved, cochlear implants have been made available to patients with a wider range of hearing losses.

Patients who are cochlear implant candidates wear hearing aids but still struggle to understand speech in most, if not all, listening situations.

What is the process to get a cochlear implant?

If you are interested in exploring a cochlear implant, the first step is to schedule a cochlear implant candidacy evaluation. This is a 90-minute appointment which assesses your ability to understand speech with hearing aids. We will review your results in detail and answer your questions about the implant process and expected outcomes.

Those who meet the hearing criteria for implantation are referred to a physician specializing in cochlear implants, typically at Johns Hopkins Hospital (or another surgical center of your choice). After medical evaluation and imaging, patients are scheduled for surgery. It is typically a same-day, outpatient procedure.

Three to four weeks after surgery, patients return to our office for activation of their implant. This is an exciting appointment in which you first begin to hear sounds through your implant. During the first year after activation, a typical cochlear implant patient will be seen about four times for fine-tuning of your implant settings. Reaching optimal outcomes after cochlear implant surgery requires a rehabilitation process in which your brain learns to understand sound through the implant.

Learn more

If you are interested in exploring cochlear implantation for yourself or a loved one, please contact our office to schedule an appointment.