We are dedicated to providing meaningful sound to those with significant hearing loss through a partnership of medicine, technology, education, and rehab.
The USC Cochlear Implant Program at the USC Speech & Hearing Research Center is dedicated to providing meaningful sound to the lives of individuals with significant hearing loss through a partnership of medicine, technology, education, and rehabilitation. The cochlear implant, an electronic device that utilizes minute electric currents to stimulate the auditory nerve, can provide a sense of hearing to severely and profoundly deafened individuals. Through appropriate follow-up and rehabilitation, most cochlear implant recipients are able to significantly improve the quality of their lives. The USC Cochlear Implant Program offers children and adults with hearing impairment the medical, technological, and intervention resources to learn to listen and speak – to communicate fully in the world around them.
Our patients are important to us. Our professional staff is committed to providing the best medical, (re)habilitation, and support services available and ensuring that our patients receive the maximum benefits from their cochlear implant.
What is a cochlear implant?
Sensorineural deafness is the result of damage to highly sensitive hair cells (hearing nerve endings) within the inner ear called the cochlea. Even though these hair cells are damaged, many nerve fibers remain intact and can be directly stimulated by the cochlear implant to transmit sound to the brain.
The internal portion of the cochlear implant is surgically imbedded under the skin behind the ear with an electrode array inserted into the cochlea and a magnet under the skin behind and just above the ear.
The external elements of the device include a sound processor with microphone and batteries which is similar in look to a hearing aid. The sound processor uses a cable and a coil with magnet to connect to the internal device under the skin.
The cochlear implant is not like a hearing aid designed to make sounds louder or clearer. Instead, it is a medical device that bypasses the damaged inner ear structures and directly stimulates the auditory nerve. Through this stimulation, individuals often can learn to listen and understand speech and environmental sounds.
