The most important thing is to make a scientific choice based on a thorough examination by an ENT doctor and the actual situation of the patient, with the goal of maximizing hearing compensation and rehabilitation.
Hearing aids and cochlear implants are both common means of helping hearing-impaired people regain their hearing, but most people are not clear about the difference between the two
First of all, the mechanism and scope of application are different
Hearing aids are electroacoustic amplifiers that amplify the sound that the hearing-impaired patient could not otherwise hear to the intensity of the sound that can be heard, which is similar to putting a pair of "magnifying glasses" over the ears. It is inferred from the principle that the use of hearing aids requires the patient's residual hearing to be able to hear the amplified sound. However, the amplification power of hearing aids is limited. Therefore, hearing aids are mainly used by patients with moderate and partially severe deafness. If the residual hearing in both ears belongs to severe or very severe hearing loss, then hearing aids are ineffective and cochlear implants are needed to help.
A cochlear implant is an "artificial ear" that replaces the cochlea of a patient who has lost hearing from a severe lesion, and can be compared to familiar implants such as artificial joints. The cochlear implant is divided into two parts: an external processor, which receives sound and transmits signals to the implant, which bypasses the damaged cochlear hair cells that sense sound and stimulates the auditory nerve directly, causing the nerve to become active to re-establish auditory function. Therefore, cochlear implantation does not require the patient to have residual cochlear hair cells (i.e., residual hearing), as long as there is a complete auditory nerve function that can be utilized.
Secondly, the sound is perceived differently
Hearing aids are used only to amplify sound, so that hearing-impaired patients can regain a familiar sense of hearing. In some cases, there are factors such as poor performance of the hearing aid, improper adjustment, etc. that lead to distortion of the sound heard (pitch) or unclear hearing and other discomforts.
For cochlear implant patients, what they "hear" is actually an electrical stimulus that differs from natural sounds.
For children with congenital hearing loss (presbycusis), who never heard a sound before the cochlear implant, and who have no way of understanding what it means, post-operative speech rehabilitation is especially important.
Usually, it takes more than 2 years of speech rehabilitation for a child with prelingual deafness to achieve the desired results.
Again, different wearing styles
Hearing aids are available in a variety of styles, including the common behind-the-ear style, the auricular cavity style, and the popular deep canal style hearing aids that are more discreet and difficult to find without careful examination. In addition to personal preference, the most important thing is the degree of hearing loss.
The choices are: behind-the-ear style, auricular cavity style, and deep ear canal style.
Cochlear implants require surgical implantation of electrodes into the patient's cochlea, which is traumatic and risky, and if the implant is damaged or malfunctions, re-operation is required; at the same time, the speech processor is also an external device, which makes it less invisible to wear.
It is recommended that the patient be fitted with a suitable hearing aid for 3 to 6 months before the cochlear implant is implanted, so that the patient can hear some sounds that will help in the postoperative speech rehabilitation. However, if there is no residual hearing, there is little point in wearing a hearing aid before surgery, because even if you amplify the outside world, you still can't hear.
Additionally, there is a wide range of prices
Hearing aids can cost from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars each.
The cost of a cochlear implant includes several parts, including the individual cochlear implant device, surgery, post-operative tune-up, speech rehabilitation, and battery maintenance, totaling 100,000-300,000 yuan.
And the impact on daily life
Cochlear implant patients need to pay special attention to the following situations:
1) The implant will trigger an alarm when passing through the security gate, it is recommended to travel with a cochlear implant identification card and discharge certificate, and to explain the situation to the security personnel when the alarm is triggered.
2) Some of the in-vitro devices are sensitive to static electricity and X-rays, and may be interfered by the security gate and X-ray conveyor belt, so it is recommended to turn off the in-vitro devices and hand them over to the security personnel for hand inspection to avoid static electricity and X-ray damages.
3) Avoid proximity to strong magnetic fields, including powerful magnets, magnetic therapy machines, and magnetic **** vibration examination rooms.
Although hearing aids and cochlear implants are very different, they can get along just fine. For example, the "bimodal" approach of wearing a hearing aid on one side and a cochlear implant on the other is far superior to unilateral artificial hearing interventions for patients with bilateral profound sensorineural deafness.