MED-EL offers several options for people born with hearing loss or who acquire hearing loss due to sickness, trauma, genetics, age, or other reasons. They offer three types of solutions for different hearing losses. A team of professionals, including but not limited to an ENT and an audiologist, will help the candidates determine which one is right for them.
Cochlear Implants
For individuals with bilateral severe to profound hearing losses, hearing aids may give little to no benefit for accessing sound and speech. Hearing loss professionals may suggest cochlear implants. MED-EL uses what is called the MAESTRO Cochlear Implant System.
"By electrically stimulating nerve fibers in the cochlea, cochlear implants allow recipients to perceive sound. The MAESTRO Cochlear Implant System is an effective, high performance solution for individuals with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss. Most users can enjoy music or successfully participate in conversation, even in the most challenging listening situations."
With cochlear implants now available for many children born deaf, parents like Amy K. have a sense of relief knowing their children have opportunities they did not several years ago. Combined with cochlear implants and Auditory-Verbal Therapy, her children hear and speak with no noticeable impairment.
"Most people have no idea that my boys were born deaf. Some recognize the external devices, but most think they just have a mild hearing impairment and wear hearing aids. Shock and awe usually follow when they realize, especially if they are someone who is aware of the difficulty that deaf people traditionally had communicating with society at large. I enjoy telling others how they work and how WELL they accomplish the task."
Combined Electric Acoustic Stimulation (EAS)
For individuals with partial deafness with mild to moderate losses in low frequencies sloping to profound losses in the higher frequencies, Combined Electric Acoustic Stimulation may be an option. These individuals may receive little benefit from hearing aids and may have inadequate speech comprehension. The EAS treatment is currently undergoing US clinical trials but is being offered to some individuals.
"EAS provides acoustic stimulation that supports a person's natural residual hearing by amplifying the low frequencies. For higher frequency sounds, the integrated cochlear implant technology automatically takes over and supplies the appropriate electric stimulation to the neural structures."
Middle Ear Implants
Adults with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss and cannot tolerate hearing aids which utilize the ear canal, middle ear implants may be an option. Some people with structural anomalies of the ear and canal or who have severe skin issues of the canal such as eczemas could qualify for middle ear implants as an alternative to traditional hearing aids when they don't quite meet the criteria for cochlear implants.
"Middle ear implants use mechanical energy to stimulate the structures of the inner ear. They are a proven alternative to hearing aids. Implanted since 1996, the Vibrant Soundbridge Middle Ear Implant System from MED-EL is the most successful middle ear implant on the market today."
To receive information from MED-EL, visit their website a choose a category you are interested in from products, ways to improve listening skills or even connecting with other MED-EL recipients.
Val Blakely - I am a stay-at-hom mom to two deaf children who hear with cochlear implants. I love to write and do this in my spare time as often as ...
