...A cochlear implant is a medical device that is implanted into the head behind the ear of a deaf person. It is very different from a hearing aid. Hearing aids magnify sounds so damaged ears may identify them. Cochlear implants escape damaged areas of the ear and activate the auditory nerve directly. Signals made by the implant are sent from the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes the signals as sound. Hearing through a cochlear implant is not the same as normal hearing and takes time and practice to learn or relearn. On the other hand, it allows many people to identify warning signals, recognize other noises in the surroundings, and enjoy a talk in person or by phone.(National Institute on Deafness, 1) When the device was first developed...
Words: 714 - Pages: 3
...HCA 210 | Health Care Innovation | Cochlear Implants | Joseph Fortescue 12/22/2013 | In every country and culture there are people who suffer from hearing loss. Sometimes it is classified as conductive hearing loss where for some reason the sound waves are being blocked; which can usually be fixed with surgery. The majority of people who suffer from hearing loss have damage to the nerves that carry sounds to the brain. That is called sensorineural hearing loss; and there are new innovative ways to help those suffering from sensoineural hearing loss. Hearing aids were invented to help damaged nerves carry sound by amplifying the sound with a microphone. That only helps those who are hard of hearing; if you amplify sound to a deaf person they still cannot hear it. The cochlear implant however, does not amplify sound; it uses electromagnetic pulses to stimulate cells in the cochlea that activate the auditory nerve. This process bypasses the damaged nerves that receive sound waves, which for the majority of the time are the cause of hearing loss. I have heard about cochlear implants for a while now and wondered about the difference in quality of hearing after surgery. The cochlear implant picks up sound and transmits it through electromagnetic pulses so is there a possibility that the sounds get distorted in the process. Since it is not the traditional method of hearing maybe the sounds are not the same either. The patient has to go through habilitation to get used...
Words: 762 - Pages: 4
...view it as a distinct culture that is not in need of rehabilitation; however, cochlear implants allow a deaf child to grow up in a hearing world. Allowing a child the opportunity to hear will allow them to have several benefits compared to a life without having the opportunity to hear (McKee, Schlehofer, & Thew, 2013). Such benefits include having an increase in the child’s language development (Dettman, Pinder, Briggs, Dowell & Leigh, 2007), having an improvement in peer relationships (Martin, Bat-Chava, Lalwani, & Waltzman, 2011), and having an improvement in the child’s overall quality of life (Schorr, Roth, & Fox, 2009). The first benefit a child could experience with the use of cochlear...
Words: 1336 - Pages: 6
...consequence of cochlear hair cell loss. The tip of the nerve fiber tuning curves expand through the loss of compression at the characteristic frequency and through the loss of hair cell controlled by elimination at neighboring locations. Sadly, hearing aids, no matter how advanced, cannot replace the nonlinear system of a healthy cochlea as they only amplify sound, they don’t make it clearer. Luckily, there are such things as cochlear implants, which offer a greater chance of success at restoring clarity and meaning of sound eroded by hearing loss than hearing aids do. A cochlear implant is a small electronic device used to treat severe to profound hearing loss. It’s implanted beneath the skin, behind the ear, and it provides direct stimulation to the auditory nerve in the inner ear. The implant does not restore normal hearing, but it does improve sound detection and speech understanding, and it increases the amount of nervous response to sound. Adults who have recently...
Words: 767 - Pages: 4
...With ideas and research occuring at that time Dr. William F. House, a medical researcher invented the cochlear implants. Dr. williams F House goal was to resotre the hearing in deaf people. Thanks to him more than 200,000 people in the world have inner-ear implants. Of course with the good benefits of this implant theres also some people who are against it due to there own beliefs. , Cochlear implant is a implanted device that helps overcome problems in the inner ear, or cochlea. The only way it can work for a human being is through surgery. In kids article.com they decribe the cochlear as a snail-shaped, curled tube located in the area of the ear where nerves are contained. When it comes to coclear implants they usally have 2 main componets, 1)The externally worn microphone, sound processor and transmitter system 2) The implanted receiver and electrode system, which contains the electronic circuits that receives signals from the external system and send electrical currents to the inner ear. In other words its supposed to stimulate the cochlear’s nerve in...
Words: 458 - Pages: 2
...Mixed hearing loss is a combination of conductive and sensorineural. Central hearing loss is a problem in the central nervous system involving the inability to interpret sound. Functional hearing loss is caused by an emotional or psychological factor in which there is no physical finding of hearing loss (Lewis et al., 2011) Mosby and Elsevier (2009) (Crusse & Kent, 2013). To determine the type of hearing loss, type of hearing device needed and proper fit, there are different doctors with different levels of education a person can see. Choosing a correct hearing specialist is important. An Audiologist can identify and access hearing disorders. They can also select and correctly fit hearing aids. Audiologists can also program cochlear implants and provide counseling services, rehab and instruction on device usage. An Audiologist is required to have a doctorate or masters degree. A Hearing Aid Specialist can access, select, fit and dispense hearing aids. The can also instruct rehabilitation and counsel in use and care of hearing aids. A certification by the National Board of Certification in Hearing Aid Sciences is...
Words: 2020 - Pages: 9
...COCHLEAR IMPLANT * Sub Industry: Health care equipment-Biotechnology * Three main products: Cochlear Nucleus, Cochlear Baha and Cochlear Hybrid * High cost of implant * Competitors: Advanced Bionics Corp, California and Med-El Corp. Austria, Sonova * Demographics-hearing loss population-America its biggest market * Partnership with complementary products manufacturers (Switzerland’s Phonak Group) * Providing incentives to surgeons – negative point * China and India market making same products at less cost * Poor performance in past 3 years-impact of product recall * Competitor: Advanced Bionics : Acquired by Sonova- Swiss company (AB is subsidiary of AB) and partner with Phonak * Cochlear has 65% of the $860m worldwide cochlear implant market, compared with Sonova’s 15% (http://www.epvantage.com/Universal/View.aspx?type=Story&id=382175&isEPVantage=yes) * Moreover, competition for Cochlear is heating up. The US company Advanced Bionics is launching new products at the same time as Cochlear. Austria’s Med-EL has launched an all-in-one speech processor. Denmark’s William Demant has bought Neurelec, a second-vertically integrated competitor Cochlear. * Cochlear’s mission is: “We help people hear and be heard. We empower people to connect with others and live a full life. We transform the way people understand and treat hearing loss. We innovate and bring to market a range of implantable hearing solutions that deliver a lifetime...
Words: 607 - Pages: 3
...Communication 389 CSULA Summer 2014 ICC Artifact Two 7/27/14 ICC Artifact assignment: The Cochlear Implant Controversy According to our text in Chapter 7 Nonverbal code and cultural space there are certain aspects of the culture and its relationship to nonverbal activity. Personal–contextual and the static–dynamic dia- lectics. Although nonverbal communication can be highly dynamic, personal space, gestures, and facial expressions are fairly static patterns of specific non- verbal communication codes. Their interpretation will vary depending upon its context and culture that it is being communicated to. The chapter talks about how different the dynamics of intercultural nonverbal communication are across different cultural groups. In this ICC artifact assignment we will examine and look at the topic of The Cochlear implant controversy. The controversy involves the scientific hearing assistance breakthrough device for the deaf community, and whether or not its use and development will be the ultimate removal of and extinction of the deaf community as a culture. The following essay will examine the relevance and truth to this argument and examine the negative and positive manifestations to the Deaf culture from the development and use of the Cochlear Implant itself. The Chapter talks about several research findings about nonverbal communication. Research investigating the universality of nonverbal communication has focused on four areas: (1) the relationship...
Words: 1196 - Pages: 5
...Cochlear Limited Analysis Introduction This report will examine Cochlear Limited, an Australian company trading on the ASX (COH). The most recent annual report available is for financial year 2010-2011, which ended on 31 July 2011. Questions Q 1. a. Provide a description of your company and its core business activity. Cochlear Limited (COH) is a manufacturer and marketer of cochlear implants which offer solutions to address different types of hearing impairment. Cochlear is the global leader in implantable hearing solutions. Cochlear has a global team of more than 2,500 people who deliver the gift of sound to the hearing impaired in over 100 countries around the world. b. What industry does your company operate in? Operating in the Health Care sector of the Health Care Equipment & Services industry, c. Name one competitor of your company. COH has approximately 70% market share for cochlear implants, which are funded by government health authorities and charities. Currently the major competitors of COH are Swiss hearing aid company Sonova and Med El is another competitor in European and US markets. d. List the countries/areas in which your firm operates. With direct operations in more than 20 countries, COH distributes into over 100 countries with a focus on the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East and Africa. e. In which country/area does your company make most of its profit? The majority...
Words: 298 - Pages: 2
...The Silent Society: Being Deaf Deafhood and Epistemology When considering the epistemology of deafness, one must consider the history of how deafness has evolved. The history of deafness comes from the ignorance of those who could not understand how people who had a disability were different from them. It was easier to place these types of “folks” in intuitions and not deal with their needs. Understanding the deaf community comes through understanding the culture and the history that allows the deaf to have a “voice” and provide them with the necessary services that make the deaf more human. Through mental health, hearing assessments, and trauma, there is an understanding that even though they may not live in the hearing world, there are still apart of society. How they function as a community is important, as they too have a voice. Deafhood is described as “static”, not a medical condition; however, it is a process-a struggle that is endured by every child, adult, and family to explain themselves, and each other their own existence within their world (Hauser, O’Hearn, Steider, &Thew, 2010). Epistemology can be defined as the philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits to human knowledge. When dealing with deaf epistemology, there are many facets to which it can be understood and misunderstood. The authors discuss the visual learning process that a Deaf child goes through by being raised by either a Deaf parent or a hearing parent....
Words: 3079 - Pages: 13
...Students & Hearing Impairment Humans are fortunate to have 5 physical senses and also have the knowledge to use and verbally express our perceptions about our environment using each one. Of course we know these to be taste, smell, touch, see, and hear. From the moment we wake up until the moment we fall asleep, we use each of these senses. Some of these senses are considered more vital than the others. But, with these senses, we are capable of living in this on-the-go, ease-of-access society. Every day we have an agenda whether it is work, school, children, or even just to lounge and be a couch potato. Each of those tasks requires our senses. What happens to a person when one sense or even multiple senses become impaired or is extinguished? We all love to feel the rain on our skin, smell the fresh forest air, taste great home cooking, and see the newborn baby first open their eyes. But, what if you’re crossing the street and you can’t hear the drunk driver and the sirens turning the corner behind you? What do you do when you’re struggling to hear your teacher’s very important review about your final? What happens if you were living in New York City, sitting in your apartment, and you couldn’t hear the bombs collide with the World Trade Center? People who are deaf or hearing impaired are very unfortunate in these situations and have to exert more effort to cope with their everyday life. Hearing loss makes even routine communication difficult. (“Slowik”) Students, especially...
Words: 768 - Pages: 4
...Observation Tuesday, June 16, 2015 Tricia’s Sunflowers, Perry, UT (In-Home Daycare) 9:30 – 11am In this observation, I will refer to the child with a hearing impairment as B. When I first stepped into the room where the child with the hearing impairment was, I immediately noticed a few things around the room that were put there specifically for her. There were flashing lights right next to a clock and there were pictures of ASL signs next to written signs in the room. Right away, I could tell the teacher in this room really took the time to see what she could do to assist in communication. This room has six children, all between the ages of 3-5, and B is the only child who has a hearing deficiency. B wears a hearing device, a cochlear implant, to help her hear better and understand the other children. Although she is encouraged to keep the device on at all times during school, aside from nap time, B will take off her device if she is upset, needs quiet time, or is not feeling well. I arrived just as the children are beginning their morning group session. The teacher in this classroom, Ms. Tricia, knows ASL because she taught her children ASL when they were babies and toddlers to assist in communication. During morning group, as the teacher is talking, she is also signing to B who is sitting in the front and center of the group. It is interesting and heartwarming to see the other five children attempt to sign along with B and the teacher as they sing their morning songs...
Words: 978 - Pages: 4
...October 15th 2008 “Arriana, you will be more profoundly deaf as you get older. Your hearing is in the spot where the hearing aids aren’t benefiting you anymore.” The audiologist said. The voice I remember hearing was heartless. “Would you rather be deaf and mute and signing the whole time? Not being aware of your surrounding? Or would you rather be able to hear and talk in the normal world?” The audiologist says it with no emotions. I thought my world died when Cincinnati Children’s audiologist told my Father and me. My diagnosis at the age of two revealed a profound and unexplainable hearing loss; however, I continued to function normally as I still do today. My hearing loss is severe to profound, so I was fitted with my first hearing aids. When I heard my first sound, I was amazed at the difference between my silence world and my new hearing world. I see that people take so much for granted because hearing is so natural, but I understand the challenge of matching words to sounds to communication which wasn’t fun at all. I was “muted” for a really long time. My mother would tell me that people would get in my face talking loudly, and I would get upset. I was just starting to talk at the age of 5. English is not my first language; American Sign Language is. I attended St. Rita’s School for The Deaf for about three years and is where I became fluent in ASL. As a Kindergartener, I went to a mainstream school, Clifton Elementary. I couldn’t understand the fact that all my friends...
Words: 1506 - Pages: 7
...that prevent sounds being ‘conducted’ to the inner ear and hearing nerves. * Hearing may fluctuate and may affect often or both ears to varying degrees. * Conductive problems generally affect the loudness of the sound that is heard, e.g. middle ear infection Sensorineural hearing loss * Due to a problem in the cochlea (the sensory part of the ear) or the hearing nerve (the neural part) * Can be acquired or present at birth * Leads to a loss of clarity as well as loudness * Varies in type and severity * Extent to which a child is handicapped depends on the severity of the loss, what caused the loss, how early the loss is detected and at what age the loss has occurred. * The use of hearing aids and cochlear implants restore hearing ability * Even minor disruptions can lead to language problems * It is more common in boys. * Hearing loss due to ear infections is common in Australian indigenous children. Language development: * Hearing loss present at birth or that occurs before language has been learned is more disruptive to language development than any loss that occurs after language has developed. * If children have at least some exposure to language, the effect on communication skills is not as noticeable as for children who have never heard spoken language. * Good language skills provide a firm...
Words: 318 - Pages: 2
...occurs when very loud sounds damage hair cells. One example of this is listening to loud music. These hair cells are very small, and also very fragile. Dead hair cells can never be replaced. Once they are gone, they can never be replaced. A study showed that was you are sixty-five years old, more than forty precent will be gone. Emily can not get a hearing aid because, hearing aids are no help in case of sensorineural hearing loss because auditory messages are blocked from reaching the brain, as of yet there is no cure for high frequency hearing loss. Emily can receive treatment, which focuses on improving hearing rather then restoring it. Many cases the auditory nerve is actually intact. Emily can act on her hearing loss by getting a Cochlear Implants. Its job is to bypass hair cells and stimulate the auditory nerves directly. I think that this will help Emily because if the auditory nerved is intact, it is possible for Emily to still hear and will not be forced into deep anxiety. But if in fact its not, then its nothing she can do to help herself. When Emily hears the strange noise, because of her hearing problem, it reminds her of her mother. Many people are driven into compulsive behavior because of events in their lives. Emily event in her live that causes compulsive behavior is when her mother was fighting cancer and makes a little groans noise. When she was little she heard this groan from her mother all the time, and that was something she...
Words: 594 - Pages: 3
