Currently, a cochlear implant is the standard treatment forpeople whose hearing ability is so poor that well-fit hearingaids fail to permit effective oral communication. The implantis a neural stimulator whose electrode array is placed surgicallyin the lumen of the cochlea, near the auditory nerve. An externalmicrophone picks up speech signals, and the signal processortransforms these signals into digital impulses that a radio-frequencycarrier transmits percutaneously into the internal receiver–stimulatorand electrode array (see Figure). The auditory cortex is stimulatedby the implant, permitting the perception of the digitally processedinformation as speech.
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From the Bloedel Hearing Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle (G.A.G.); and the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis (R.T.M.).
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