| Myth
People
with Cochlear Implants are only able to distinguish environmental
noises, not comprehend speech. |
Reality
How much
benefit people get from a Cochlear Implant varies and is dependent
on a number of things (See the
National
Institute of Health's Consensus Statement on Cochlear Implants.)
Some get little more than an improved awareness of environmental
sound. Some are able to comprehend speech without lip-reading.
Some fall somewhere between the two. My son does comprehend speech without
speech-reading. |
| Myth
After someone gets a
Cochlear Implant, they're immediately able to hear normally and
talk on the phone. |
Reality
Results are not immediate,
and as mentioned above, varied. It takes time for the brain to
learn to understand and process these new sounds, some of which
may not have ever been heard before. |
| Myth
Cochlear
Implants fix or cure deafness. |
Reality
Cochlear
Implants do not cure or fix deafness. They provide an improved
perception of sound, but anybody with a Cochlear implant, no
matter how much they benefit from it, will tell you that they are
not "cured" or "fixed". When the speech
processor is turned off, there is no sound. |
| Myth
Cochlear
Implants weaken the skull so if someone with a Cochlear Implant
gets hit in the head, they will fracture their skull. |
Reality
People who
have Cochlear Implants are cautioned against contact sports
because there is some worry that a blow to the head may damage the
housing of the internal portion of the cochlear implant, but not
because of the possibility of a skull fracture. A slight
depression is made in the mastoid for the housing of the internal
device to sit into, but this does not weaken the skull. This
portion of the skull is very thick and I have heard of no
instances, nor do I know of any instances where a blow to the
skull has resulted in a skull fracture due to that person having
received an implant.
I would also like to mention in
reference to the possibility of damage to the housing of the
internal portion of a Cochlear Implant, the materials used are
very strong and this risk is very slight. Wearing a helmet for
contact sports, whether or not the person has a Cochlear Implant,
is the smart thing to do. |
| Myth
The
electrodes in a Cochlear Implant go into the brain. |
Reality
The electrodes go into the
Cochlea (Inner Ear), not the brain. At no time is the brain
uncovered, exposed, touched, or probed. |
| Myth
Cochlear
Implant surgery is brain surgery. |
| Myth
The cord
for the Cochlear Implant comes out of the neck. |
Reality
No cords come out of the neck, or any other part of the
body. The internal portion of the Cochlear Implant is completely
separate from the external portion. The information from the
external portion is passed through the skin to the inner portion
via radio waves. (See the
National
Institute of Health's Consensus Statement on Cochlear Implants.) |
| Myth
People
with Cochlear Implants can't go swimming. |
Reality
People with Cochlear
Implants can go swimming, but first they must remove the
headset and speech processor. I feel this myth probably started
because of a caution against deep sea diving due to the high
pressures involved. Just how deep can a person go? What do
the manufacturers have to say about recreational scuba diving? Cochlear
Corp.- "Recreational scuba diving will not harm the implant. The
Nucleus implant has been validated to withstand static pressures
in excess of 4 atm and therefore recreational scuba diving to a
depth of 30 meters will not harm the implant itself. Care
should be taken that headgear or face mask straps do not damage
the site of the implant. Recipients should consult their doctor to
confirm there is no vestibular impairment.
If anyone has additional questions about this, please let us know
at
info@cochlear.com"
Advanced Bionics - "Based upon pressure testing conducted in a simulated
environment (hyberbaric chamber), the 1.2 Internal Cochlear
Stimulator (ICS) of the CLARIONŽ cochlear implant system may be
subjected to depths of 4 Atmospheres (ATM) absolute (@99ft below
surface). These test results apply only to patients implanted
after January 1, 1997. These tests were conducted by subjecting a
number of ICS units without attached electrode to 10 cycles in
this simulated environment. The rate of ascent/descent was
1ft/sec. following US Navy Diving Tables for uncompressed dives.
Full electrical and hermeticity testing was performed before and
after this testing. This testing is not an endorsement of scuba
diving per se for recipients of the CLARIONŽ Cochlear Implant
System as there may be other medical factors that would preclude
the patient from participating in this activity. Patients wishing
to scuba dive should consult with their physician before engaging
in this activity. The long-term effects of repeated pressure
cycling on the ICS are unknown."
Though it's not recommended, some folks have
gotten crafty with their implants and have devised ways they can
wear theirs while swimming, either with the
ear level
processor. Please note that they do so at their own
risk.
|
| Myth
Doctors
who perform Cochlear Implant surgery are only in it for the money. |
Reality
I don't see how this can
be true. While many insurance companies do cover Cochlear
Implants, the contractual agreements they have with the implant
centers greatly restricts the amounts the Insurance will pay. For
example: because of the contractual arrangement our insurance had
with our implant center, the final amount they received from the
insurance company was less than what the center had to pay for the
device itself. No "Big Bucks" were made by the surgeon,
the implant center, or the hospital when my son was implanted. His
follow-up care (aural rehabilitation and speech processor
programming) is provided by his private school, so the implant
center doesn't make
money with this either. Neither does his school. |
| Myth
Cochlear
implants are disfiguring. |
Reality
While the size, shape, and
location of scars from Cochlear Implant surgery can vary, they are
certainly not disfiguring. The housing for the internal portion my
sometimes cause a small bump, but I would hardly call it
disfiguring either. My son's scar is hardly noticeable and the top
of the housing sits flush with the surface of the mastoid bone.
You can barely feel it if you run your hand along the top of where
the device sits. |
| Myth
People with cochlear
implants don't have to worry about a reduced ability to hear when
they have an ear infection. |
Reality
Many users, audiologists,
and surgeons report that when there is a condition that causes fluid
in the middle ear, it does affect the cochlear implant.
Almost every cochlear implant center has met with
at least one patient who this happens to - my own son is one such
patient. The fact is, nobody knows why this happens, only that it
does. |
