How a cochlear implant can replace the sense of hearing

Millions of people worldwide are affected by hearing loss. If a conventional hearing aid is no longer sufficient due to the severity of the hearing loss, the cochlear implant (CI) offers a solution. But how does the CI enable people with severe hearing loss or even deaf people to hear (again)?

In the case of profound sensorineural hearing loss or deafness, the hair cells in the inner ear are damaged and cannot process and transmit sound information correctly.

A cochlear implant bypasses these defective hair cells and sends the sound information in the form of coded electrical impulses to the auditory nerve or brain, where they are interpreted as acoustic events. As the brain receives and processes this information within a very short time, it is perceived practically at the moment it occurs.

The cochlear implant (CI) essentially consists of two parts:

• the outer part, the audio processor with transmitting coil
• the inner part, the implant with the electrode array

The audio processor picks up the sound information and sends it to the implant via the transmitter coil, which is connected to the implant by a magnets. It is located behind the ear under the skin and transmits the pulse pattern to the electrode array, which is inserted directly into the cochlea. The auditory nerve receives these electrical impulses, which it transmits to the auditory center in the brain. The brain perceives these signals as sounds.

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