Hearing Implantology - Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants

Hearing Implantology – Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants

Hearing Implantology is a set of surgical techniques for the implantation of devices aimed at the functional rehabilitation of patients suffering from total or partial deafness. Cochlear implants do not “replace” the ear but can help many people considered deaf.
By stimulating the auditory nerve, they transmit signals to the brain, which in turn transforms the impulse into “hearing”.
Cochlear implants are essential for many children born with severe forms of hearing loss; in these cases, the implant can promote the patient’s growth with the fundamental hearing abilities for proper language comprehension. The purpose of “prosthetic therapy” is to allow the patient with hearing loss a better understanding of language.

The hearing aid is a miniaturized electronic device that offers the hearing-impaired patient controlled and comfortable sound amplification.
The cochlear implant and the brainstem implant are implantable devices (respectively in the inner ear and the brainstem) that allow patients with severe and profound forms of deafness an improvement in hearing ability and awareness of sounds in daily life.
Finally, there are other types of so-called implantable prostheses (Active Middle Ear Implants and Bone Anchored Hearing Aids) that can represent, in particular cases, an alternative to traditional hearing aids. The purpose of the prosthetic evaluation is to gather all the useful information to generate a complete description of the patient’s hearing status, both objective and subjective.
The crucial role of the audiologist, during counseling, is to make the patient and family members aware of the specific condition’s peculiarities and to obtain their consent on the primary goals to be achieved with the use of the hearing aid. The Otological Group has enabled thousands of children and adults to hear, becoming, over the years, one of the largest and most respected Hearing Implantology Centers in the world, dealing with:

cochlear implants CI;
active middle ear implants (AMEI);
bone anchored hearing aids (BAHA – Bone Anchored Hearing Aid);
hearing aids;
auditory brainstem implants (ABI);
CROS system;
sensorineural hearing loss.

Patient Preparation

No special preparation rules are required for the patient, but the doctor may advise bringing all documentation regarding other in-depth examinations to be performed (magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography - CT, etc.).