Cochlear Implants & Hearing Aids Near Exton, PA
Cochlear implants are a groundbreaking option for certain individuals who struggle to understand speech due to sensorineural hearing loss. These advanced electronic devices are designed to help restore the sense of hearing by replacing—or doing the job of—missing or damaged sensory cells in the inner ear.
The highly experienced audiology doctors at Hearing Smile Professionals offer the latest breakthroughs in hearing technology—including cochlear implants and hearing aids—to patients in the Exton, Pennsylvania, area.
Why Don’t Hearing Aids Work for Everyone?
Hearing aids help many people hear better by amplifying sounds so those sounds can be detected by damaged inner ears. However, no level of amplification will be helpful to a hearing aid wearer who cannot hear the sounds at all.
Cochlear implants can be life-changing for a person who is not helped by hearing aids. Consisting of an external component that sits behind the ear and an interior component that is surgically placed in the inner ear, cochlear implants directly stimulate the auditory nerve, bypassing the damaged portion of the inner ear. Surgery is followed by therapy to help the patient learn to correctly interpret the sounds created by the implant.
Adults & Children Can Benefit From Cochlear Implants
Certain adults who have lost most of their hearing later in life may benefit from cochlear implants. Specifically, those individuals can learn to associate the signals provided by the cochlear implants with the sounds they remember hearing. As a result, they may have the ability to understand speech solely by listening through the cochlear implants, without relying on visual cues.
Cochlear implants can also help young children with hearing loss acquire speech, language, and social skills. In general, early implantation—between ages two and six—is most beneficial.
To learn more about cochlear implants, contact Hearing Smile Professionals today to schedule a consultation with an audiology doctor at our office near Exton, PA.
