A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for improved speech understanding in both quiet and noisy environments. A CI bypasses acoustic hearing by direct electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. Through everyday listening and auditory training, cochlear implants allow both children and adults to learn to interpret those signals as speech and sound.
A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers such as personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) or other plain sound reinforcing systems cannot be sold as "hearing aids".
Bone conduction is the conduction of sound to the inner ear primarily through the bones of the skull, allowing the hearer to perceive audio content without blocking the ear canal. Bone conduction transmission occurs constantly as sound waves vibrate bone, specifically the bones in the skull, although it is hard for the average individual to distinguish sound being conveyed through the bone as opposed to the sound being conveyed through the air via the ear canal. Intentional transmission of sound through bone can be used with individuals with normal hearing — as with bone-conduction headphones — or as a treatment option for certain types of hearing impairment. Bone generally conveys lower-frequency sounds better than higher frequency sounds.
Audiology is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By employing various testing strategies, audiologists aim to determine whether someone has normal sensitivity to sounds. If hearing loss is identified, audiologists determine which portions of hearing are affected, to what degree, and where the lesion causing the hearing loss is found. If an audiologist determines that a hearing loss or vestibular abnormality is present, they will provide recommendations for interventions or rehabilitation.
Unilateral hearing loss (UHL) is a type of hearing impairment where there is normal hearing in one ear and impaired hearing in the other ear.
Demant A/S is an international hearing health care company within hearing aids, audiometric equipment, and personal communication.
Sonova Holding AG is an internationally active Swiss company headquartered in Stäfa that specializes in hearing care. It is a component of the Swiss Market Index. It is one of the largest providers in the sector worldwide. The group operates through its core business brands Phonak, Unitron, Hansaton, Advanced Bionics and AudioNova.
Graeme Milbourne Clark AC is an Australian Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne. His work in ENT surgery, electronics and speech science as he contributed towards the development of the multiple-channel cochlear implant. His invention was later produced and sold by Cochlear Limited.
A bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) is a type of hearing aid based on bone conduction. It is primarily suited for people who have conductive hearing losses, unilateral hearing loss, single-sided deafness and people with mixed hearing losses who cannot otherwise wear 'in the ear' or 'behind the ear' hearing aids. They are more expensive than conventional hearing aids, and their placement involves invasive surgery which carries a risk of complications, although when complications do occur, they are usually minor.
Cochlear is a medical device company that designs, manufactures, and supplies the Nucleus cochlear implant, the Hybrid electro-acoustic implant and the Baha bone conduction implant.
Electric acoustic stimulation (EAS) is the use of a hearing aid and a cochlear implant technology together in the same ear. EAS is intended for people with high-frequency hearing loss, who can hear low-pitched sounds but not high-pitched ones. The hearing aid acoustically amplifies low-frequency sounds, while the cochlear implant electrically stimulates the middle- and high-frequency sounds. The inner ear then processes the acoustic and electric stimuli simultaneously, to give the patient the perception of sound.
An auditory brainstem implant (ABI) is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf, due to retrocochlear hearing impairment. In Europe, ABIs have been used in children and adults, and in patients with neurofibromatosis type II.
Lyric Hearing is an extended wear hearing aid developed by InSound Medical, founded by medical device inventor entrepreneur Adnan Shennib and Thar Casey. The device rests inside the ear canal and uses the ears anatomy to funnel sound to the ear drum. The device is placed into the ear canal by a certified professional and no surgery or anesthesia is required when inserting the device. Although individual replacement needs can vary, Lyric is designed to be worn for up to 4 months at a time without needing to remove it or replace batteries.
Geoffrey R. Ball (born 1964) is an American physiologist specializing in Biomechanics and the inventor of the VIBRANT SOUNDBRIDGE active middle ear implant – a medical device designed to treat his own hearing loss.
Lars Kolind is a Danish businessman. Kolind holds an M.Sc. in Mathematics from Aarhus University from 1972 and a B.Comm. from the Copenhagen Business School from 1977. He is adjunct professor of leadership and strategy at Aarhus University Business School since 2000. He serves as Detao Master of Leadership and Strategy since 2012.
Implant failure refers to the failure of any medical implant to meet the claims of its manufacturer or the health care provider involved in its installation. Implant failure can have any number of causes. The rates of failure vary for different implants.
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written with a lower case d. It later came to be used in a cultural context to refer to those who primarily communicate through sign language regardless of hearing ability, often capitalized as Deaf and referred to as "big D Deaf" in speech and sign. The two definitions overlap but are not identical, as hearing loss includes cases that are not severe enough to impact spoken language comprehension, while cultural Deafness includes hearing people who use sign language, such as children of deaf adults.
Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions is a company based in Gothenburg, Sweden, that manufactures and distributes bone conduction hearing solutions under the trademark Baha. The company was created in 1999 and was then called Entific Medical Systems. When Cochlear bought the company in 2005, the name changed to Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions. The acronym "BAHA" was trademarked into Baha, since it is not considered a hearing aid by insurance companies.
MED-EL is a global medical technology company specializing in hearing implants and devices. They develop and manufacture products including cochlear implants, middle ear implants and bone conduction systems.
Treatment depends on the specific cause if known as well as the extent, type, and configuration of the hearing loss. Most hearing loss results from age and noise, is progressive, and irreversible. There are currently no approved or recommended treatments to restore hearing; it is commonly managed through using hearing aids. A few specific types of hearing loss are amenable to surgical treatment. In other cases, treatment involves addressing underlying pathologies, but any hearing loss incurred may be permanent.
