I am hard of hearing, 65+, and have talked to my doctor about getting a hearing aid. I have had pretty good hearing my entire life, and it has not really bothered me until recently. Because of that, I don’t know much about the subject other than from speaking with my doctor. My doctor recommended a hearing aid, and I didn’t bother asking him about cochlear implants, but I have heard about them before. Can somebody explain the difference to me?
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What is the Difference between a Hearing Aid and a Cochlear Implant?
Otolaryngology
May 02 2020 | 1 | by AJmenez
To be clear, I am not a doctor, but I have had hearing aids for several years and have done extensive research on this topic. As always, please consult with your doctor if you are actually considering cochlear implants.
Anyway, hearing aids and cochlear implants are actually very different. Cochlear implants, as the name suggests, actually involve surgery where you are implanted with an electronic device. There is also an external comonent that you place in your ear. Cochlear implants are for people who are basically deaf, or are very hard-of-hearing. Hearing aids work by intensifying sounds; cochlear implants bypass the “broken” parts inside your ear and send a message directly to your brain. So it is essentially a whole different manner of hearing. This is why people who receive cochlear implants must undergo extensive therapy to be able to hear again. It’s not as simple as getting an implant and suddenly hearing better. Again, I don’t have cochlear implants, but this is what I have heard from others.
Hearing aids are far less of a committment. That is not to say they’re inexpensive. Actually, it’s quite the opposite, but for something that can really alter your life, they are certainly worth the price if your doctor recommended you should be using them.
What I also know is that cochlear implants are an advanced piece of tech, and research is constantly being done on them. Of course, the same can be said for hearing aids, but it will be interesting to see how the sophistication of cochlear implants change over the years…