A cochlear implant has an implanted part and an external component.
The implanted part (HiRes 90K® Implant) is surgically positioned beneath the muscle tissue and skin on the side of the head by a surgeon. The small implant electrode is threaded down into the hearing mechanism of the inner ear, the cochlea, during the surgery.
The external component is a miniature computer called a sound processor that is worn on the outside of the body, either over the back of the ear (Harmony™ Sound Processor), or at waist level (Platinum Series™ Sound Processor).
A microphone connected to the sound processor detects nearby sounds and the processor converts these sounds into digitally coded signals. The headpiece transmitter, magnetically aligned over the implant and connected to the sound processor, rapidly sends these signals as radio waves through the skin and to the implanted part.
The HiRes 90K implant receives these digitally coded signals and interprets them using its sophisticated microelectronic architecture and multiple independent output circuits to send specialized patterns of electrical current down the electrode to the inside of the cochlea. Multiple contact sites located along the length of the electrode emit these electrical currents in the form of electrical stimulation pulses to the surrounding hearing nerve receptors inside the cochlea. Nerve fibers send this information to the brain for central processing, interpretation, hearing perception and developmental recognition of the incoming sounds.
Special programming software (SoundWave™ Professional Suite) is used by the cochlear implant audiologist to create, adjust, fine-tune and optimize sound processing programs on the sound processor computing system, to best fit individual hearing needs. These programs are periodically reassessed during repeat visits to the audiologist to maximize hearing performance with the cochlear implant system.
Video "How a Cochlear Implant Works">>
