Both cochlear implants and hearing aids assist those patients with hearing loss. The most important differences between cochlear implants and hearing aids relates to the degree of hearing loss and one requires surgery while the other does not. The more precise way may be to review who is a candidate for each. Let’s learn more about cochlear implants vs hearing aids: what’s the difference?
Hearing aids are beneficial for those with mild to severe hearing loss. They basically amplify sound so the person can distinguish voices and sounds. They are small hearing devices that can be worn in or behind the ears.
Hearing aids consist of a microphone, an amplifier, and a speaker. An experienced audiologist at ENT Surgical Consultants will be able to advise you on the type of hearing aid best for you based on your degree of hearing loss.
Styles of hearing aids include the following:
ENT Surgical Consultants can help you choose which might be best for your comfort and degree of hearing loss.
Most hearing aids today are digital. They transform sound waves into digital signals and replicate the original sound precisely. Utilizing a computerized chip, they examine the surrounding area for spoken words and other noises. Older analog hearing aids simply make the sound louder.
Cochlear implants are best for those who have moderate to profound hearing loss, and they must be surgically implanted. They directly stimulate the part of the ear that doesn’t work by using a mild electrical current applied to structures in the cochlea, or inner ear.
Cochlear implants can help those with severe hearing loss who cannot understand speech even with the most powerful hearing aids. They can help people who have inner ear damage and who will not be helped with a hearing aid.
Cochlear implants deliver sound signals to the auditory nerve. The sound processor sits behind the ear, and a receiver is implanted under the skin behind the air. The receiver sends the signals to electrodes implanted in the inner ear or the cochlea. The brain then interprets the signals as sounds.
People with cochlear implants need training to learn how to interpret the signals. It takes 3 to 6 months of using the cochlear implant to understand speech, so it is not an automatic “fix” like a hearing aid.
Advantages of cochlear implants include the following:
Scientists are working to develop a system with no external unit.
Contact the experienced audiologists at ENT Surgical Consultants if you would like a hearing assessment to discover which type of hearing device might be right for you. Call (815) 531-3802 to schedule an appointment in Joliet, Morris or New Lenox, Illinois today.