Who is a Candidate?
Adult Candidates
Patients who have a severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears may be candidates for a cochlear implant. The patient must receive little to no benefit from their hearing aids, have no other medical contraindications, and exhibit realistic expectation for post-operative outcomes. Benefit from traditional amplification is determined by standardized testing completed in the audiology clinic during the cochlear implant evaluation. Unlike hearing aids, most insurance companies, including Medicare, cover a portion of the cost of cochlear implantation.
Pediatric Candidates
Children who have been diagnosed with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss may be considered candidates for cochlear implantation. Current FDA guidelines permit cochlear implantation in children as young as 12 months of age. Children should demonstrate limited benefit from appropriately fit hearing aids as well as lack of progress or a plateau in auditory development. Families should be motivated to use listening and spoken language as the primary method of communication and be willing to participate in regular speech and language therapy sessions following implantation.
Please see ” What is the Evaluation Process?” for more information.