Treatment packages are mainly leveled based on the ranking of surgeons (according to the number of annual surgeries, years of experience, educational and experimental records, the rate of successful surgeries and the percentage of patients’ satisfaction) and the hospital/clinic where the surgery is performed.
Every year, 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 deaf children are born in the world, and only 23% of these children can benefit using cochlear implant systems. Reports from the World Health Organization show that more than 5% of the world’s population in 2020 suffered from hearing loss and require hearing services. Hearing loss is the fourth leading cause of disability in the world. If these systems are not provided, these children may lose the golden age for surgery due to the high currency cost.
This statistic, in addition to patients in the queue and people who have already been hearing and have lost their hearing due to illness, has created a large market for the needy. In particular, this process, by returning the deaf person to a normal life, also removes the side costs that deaf people carry throughout their lives. Today, more than 324,000 people around the world use cochlear implants as a useful tool to restore hearing function.
The human ear is responsible for balance and hearing. Sometimes hearing loss may be due to congenital hearing problems and sometimes due to various factors such as old age and illness. In such cases, hearing aids allow a person to communicate with their environment. But, Hearing aids can not help people who have sever and deep hearing loss, people that can hardly hear sounds, or people that only hear very loud sounds. In these special cases, cochlear implant should be used .For those people that have sever and deep hearing loss in both ears and for those who do not use hearing aids properly cochlear implants will be best choice. Cochlear implants two ears can improve the ability to detect the direction of sound.
The cochlear implant is very different from the hearing aid. Hearing aids amplify sounds so that these amplified sounds are detected at the affected corners. But cochlear implants bypass the damaged parts of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. The signals generated by the implant are sent to the brain by the auditory nerve, so that these signals are recognized by the brain. Hearing with a cochlear implant is different from normal hearing. However, it does allow most deaf people to recognize alert signals, recognize ambient sounds, and understand speech.
Cochlear implantation is the only form of medical treatment that can restore part of hearing to a deaf person using electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. About four decades ago, cochlear implants were first introduced as single-electrode prosthesis, mainly used to enhance lip-reading ability and help a person become aware of sounds. But today there are prostheses equipped with advanced electrodes that allow telephone conversations. The criteria for selecting a person to use cochlear implants have also changed a lot and cover a wide range of age groups, from infants to the elderly.
Cochlear implantation is a small electronic device that can restore part of hearing to a deaf person by using electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. This device does not restore normal hearing, but gives the deaf person a new and more efficient form of ambient sounds, enabling them to understand speech properly. The implant includes an external part that is placed behind the ear and also has another part that is placed under the skin during a surgery. A cochlear implant includes the following sections:
Cochlear implants improve communication and quality of life for people with severe to profound hearing loss, in which, hearing aids help a little. Cochlear implants in both ears are a standard treatment for severe to profound hearing loss, especially in infants and children who are in the process of learning speech and language. Adults and children who have lost their hearing after learning speech and language (language learning) can also use cochlear implants. These people say that cochlear implants can improve the following:
Children and adults suffering from profound hearing loss or complete deafness can receive cochlear implants. As of December 2012, approximately 324,000 people were registered to use the device. In the United States, approximately 58,000 adults and 38,000 children use cochlear implants. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved cochlear implants for the treatment of hearing loss in adults in the mid-1980s. Also, since 2000, cochlear implants have received FDA approval for use in eligible children as young as 12 months. It is because it exposes them to sounds and, at the best time of speech and language skills development (from birth to age three), they can develop their speech and language skills well.
Research shows that if these children receive cochlear implants before the age of 18 months, they will be better able to hear and understand music and sounds, and will eventually be better able to speak than their counterparts who have received cochlear implants at older ages. Studies have also shown that eligible children who receive cochlear implants before the age of 12 months have a faster rate of development of language skills similar to children with normal hearing, and in many cases can attend classes successfully.
Many adults who have lost all or part of their hearing during their lifetime can also benefit from cochlear implants. They learn to relate the signals from the implant to the sounds they remember. These sounds include speech without the need for any visual cues such as lip-reading or sign language.
To decide whether to receive this device, it is best to consult with medical professionals, including cochlear implant surgeon and audiologist who have experience in implantation. Some people may decide not to do this for various personal reasons. Implant surgeries are almost always safe, although like other surgeries, complications are a risk factor.
Another topic is training to interpret the sounds produced by the cochlear implant. This process requires time and practice. Using a cochlear implant requires surgery and hearing training to learn or retrain the sense of hearing. Audiologist and speech therapists play a very important role in the learning process. All of these factors need to be examined before surgery. To be a candidate for cochlear implant surgery, you must meet the following conditions:
A thorough medical evaluation is a viable medical option to determine if cochlear implantation. Evaluations probably include:
Cochlear implant surgery is performed under general anesthesia, which means that the person will be anesthetized during the surgery. The person may need to:
Cochlear implant surgery is a procedure performed under general anesthesia and takes about 2 to 4 hours. In Cochlear Implant surgery, surgeon makes an incision behind the ear and opens the skull bone (mastoid) and then, by making a small hole in the cochlea, the electrode array of the internal device passes through this hole. Finally, the incisions are sutured and closed. After cochlear surgery, the patient usually stays in the hospital for one day and returns to normal activities after 3 to 5 days. Mild effects such as mild pressure or discomfort in the corner, vertigo, or nausea from general anesthesia may be experienced after surgery. At the end of the week, a doctor’s examination is required to remove the stitches. To speed recovery, cochlear implants are not activated immediately after surgery, but can be activated 2 to 6 weeks later.
Cochlear implantation is usually a low-risk surgery. However, like any other surgery, cochlear implantation may be associated with risks and complications in a low percentage of cases, the most important of which are:
In recent years, one of the concerns for cochlear implant patients (especially those whose prosthesis used a retainer and therefore needed to create a larger valve in the cochlea) was the possibility of developing bacterial meningitis. Today, however, preservatives are no longer used in implant prostheses, and preoperative vaccination and postoperative monitoring have reduced the patient’s risk of any bacterial infection.
To activate the device, the audiologist does the following:
Rehabilitation involves training the brain to understand the sounds heard from the cochlear implant. Everyday speech and ambient sounds are heard differently from what one remembers. The brain needs time to recognize the meaning of sounds. This process is improving and is constantly improving with the continuous use of the speech processor during waking hours.
The outcome of cochlear implants varies from person to person. Factors that may affect the results of cochlear implants; It includes the age at which a person loses their hearing and the time interval between hearing loss and cochlear implantation. For children, the best outcome occurs when the child is young. Research has also shown that young children who have had cochlear implants have better hearing and speech than children of the same age who use hearing aids. In adults, the best results are seen when the time interval between profound hearing loss and cochlear implantation is short. Adults with little or no hearing experience usually benefit from cochlear implants. Some results may include the following:
According to available statistics, as of December 2019, approximately 736,900 cochlear implants have been performed worldwide. This number was approximately 325 thousand until December 2012 and approximately 600 thousand until 2016. By 2029, approximately 118,100 cochlear implants have been performed in the United States and 65,000 in children in the United States. Every year, a significant number of people use cochlear implants. Cochlear implant surgeries and rehabilitation in Iran are performed in full accordance with international standards, and the side effects and problems caused by surgeries in this area are also in line with international standards.
Cochlear implantation began in 1992 in Iran and since then until the end of 2019, 11,760 cochlear implants have been performed in cochlear implant centers throughout the country. Currently, about 1,500 to 2,000 cochlear implants are performed annually in Iran. We are proud to announce that Iran is one of the top 5 cochlear implant destinations with more than 11 cochlear implant clinics and more than 12,000 cochlear implant surgeries since 1992.
Cochlear implantation is generally a costly procedure due to the high cost of cochlear implants. In Iran, there are the best specialists in cochlear implant surgery, which with a high success rate in cochlear implant surgery, the cost of cochlear implant in Iran is quite competitive and affordable. The cost of cochlear implants includes preoperative assessments, surgery, cochlear implant device, postoperative follow-up, and device activation and rehabilitation services; in the US it costs around $ 30,000 to $ 50,000. For foreign patients,
the cost of a cochlear implant in Iran is about $14,000 to $19,000.
Due to the fact that follow-up after implantation is of great importance, in Nora Health Tour team by continuously following up, seriously follows the process of patients’ participation in speech therapy sessions. It should be noted that individual brochures based on the patient / client plan, including pre- and post-operative instructions, as well as the necessary information and processes for further follow-up are provided to you. During your stay in Iran, the experts and translators of Nora Health Tour fully support you 24/7 and will happily help you to resolve any concerns or ambiguities that may arise for you.
It should be noted that individual brochures based on the patient / client plan, including pre- and post-operative instructions, as well as the necessary information and processes for further follow-up are provided to you. During your stay in Iran, the translators of Nora Health Tour fully support you 24/7 and will happily help you to resolve any concerns or ambiguities that may arise for you.
This is a difficult question to answer because different people have different descriptions of sound. At first, sound is usually described by terms such as “mechanical”, “robotic”, “cartoon”, and is like people “talking with candy in their mouths”. Over time, the sound quality will change as the brain re-learns the stimulus patterns provided by cochlear implants. In most patients, the sound quality improves continuously for the first six to twelve months.
You or your child may continue to use hearing aids on a non-cochlear implant. Continuing to use a hearing aid in one ear and implanting a snail in the other may help to hear sounds in noisy environments as well as help locate the sound. This solution, called bimodal hearing, can be significantly beneficial. Talk to your hearing care professional about using both technologies at the same time for better performance.
Hearing aids are designed to amplify sound, but often do little or nothing to help people with profound hearing loss to hear and understand sounds more easily or more clearly. The cochlear implant bypasses the affected part of the ear and sends the sound directly to the auditory nerve, where it is transmitted to the brain. Most cochlear implant users show improvement in speech comprehension, even in noisy environments, compared to hearing aid users.
If cochlear implants are to be performed for only one ear, several factors must be considered as to which cochlear implant is to be used. Some people prefer to have a hearing aid implanted so that they can make better use of the hearing aid. Others decide to implant a better ear in the hope of a better result. Other factors are also considered, such as the anatomy of each ear in terms of surgery, the duration of deafness in each ear, and so on. The cochlear implant team also provides recommendations. If there is an equal chance of success in both ears, you may have the final say on which cochlear implant to do.
Each person’s journey into the world of hearing is as unique as each person’s hearing loss details. Your or your child’s hearing experience with cochlear implants depends on a number of biological factors, including: age at onset of hearing loss, duration of hearing loss, age at implantation, ear condition, and other medical conditions that can affect hearing. We need to keep in mind that better hearing is a process with cochlear implants, and it does not happen immediately. Just as a child with normal hearing learns to listen, you or your child must learn to hear again by cochlear implantation. Cochlear implant users should expect continuous improvement. The rate of progression and the speed of progression depend on three factors: (1) the technology used, (2) individual biology, and (3) post-implant education and rehabilitation.
The internal processor of the implant is placed under the skin and water can not damage it. The external processor is usually not waterproof and must be removed in these cases (similar to a hearing aid). Some external processors have the option of being waterproof, so they can be used in the pool, bath or shower. You should consult about these options with a cochlear implant hearing specialist.
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