Cochlear Implants - The Future of Clinical Remediation of Hearing Loss - Essay Example

20 October The future of clinical remediation of hearing loss is the cochlear implants Introduction Hearing loss isone of the most traumatizing things to most people. People suffering from hearing loss are not able to communicate with others effectively. They cannot be served well when they are in need as the society would not even understand what they are saying. As that is not enough, deaf people are discriminated against by the general society. This has made it a challenge for not only the deaf but also people who have deaf children and family members. Advancement in technology has a possible solution for hearing loss; cochlear implant. While some people feel that this is the best clinical remediation for hearing loss, others tend to differ. Cochlear Implants Hearing loss is the inability to hear and can be caused by genetic factors or illnesses. This condition makes the lives of the people with it a living hell. They are usually discriminated by the society, making it difficult to have their issues and concerns addressed. This has been the case scenario for many years, and the deaf have a reason to smile. Technological advancement has brought a possible solution to their woes. Cochlear imp0lant promises to make the deaf listen to others and respond to them accordingly. This solution will make it possible for the deaf to integrate into the mainstream society. In fact, some experts are confident that the future of clinical remediation for hearing loss is the cochlear implants. In fact, some experts believe that cochlear implants hold the future for the hearing loss problem because of advancement in technology and research. There are many researchers in the world who are researching on the different aspects of hearing loss. The hearing loss foundation website has listed more than twenty scientists and researchers working on different hearing loss projects (Hearing Loss Foundation, 1). Their findings will provide a better approach to not only managing hearing loss but also curing and treating the problem. Some believe that research on cochlear will provide information on how to cure hearing loss problems that are not cochlear dependent, for instance, genetic hearing loss (Wilson and Dorman, 15). Cochlear implants have been determined to improve speech perception and recognition abilities in both adults and children. They can be able to talk freely with other people, express themselves and receive auditory instructions perfectly well. Research indicates that people with hearing loss could not hear at all in especially noisy places. Those who could hear could not differentiate the different sounds. The performance of each ear was about 13.5% only. When cochlear implants were done in people with hearing problems, the performance of each ear improved to about 80% for each ear and 90% for both ears. Researchers, who have done such experiments and obtained similar results, believe that cochlear implants hold the key to the solution of hearing loss (Heyning and Punte, 141). Auditory experts claim that cochlear implants in especially children improved development of language and speech abilities. While other hearing aids are put on the inside, the cochlear implant is put inside the ear where it stimulates the hair nerves which are important in speech perception and response. These experts believe that doing cochlear implants for children with hearing loss at a very young age is likely to impact language and speech development better. In that case, they propose cochlear implants to be done on very young children once it is determined they have been cochlear related hearing loss. This is especially for children who are born with hearing loss problems. The hair nerves will get used to the stimulations by the implant leading to almost comprehensive cochlear function. Cochlear implants at such young age, is likely to help the children integrate into the mainstream society almost un-noticed (Sarant, 21). Cochlear implants are person specific. In this case, tests are done on the patient to determine the extent of the hearing problem. The test results and data are fed to sophisticated computers that provide the precise information on the cochlear implant is to be programmed and to be used on that particular patient. This is important for comfortable hearing in various environments. Patients are required to visit their auditory specialists for proper programming of the cochlear. Programming is done on one ear at first until the sound is comfortably loud. The second ear is then programmed to ensure that the sound is well balanced for both ears. Programming of the first ear takes longer compared to the second (Waltzman, and Roland, 152). Psychologists fully support cochlear implants. They claim that this surgery has an impact on self-esteem and confidence of the patients. People with hearing loss problems usually have low self-esteem and are not confident at all. This affects their work, how they interact with other people and may have adverse effects. Some people may be affected so much psychologically, that they may even think of killing themselves. After all, they may not find it necessary to live if they are discriminated against because of the hearing loss problem. Nevertheless, some other experts believe that cochlear implants are not the remediation for hearing loss. They claim that this surgery has some significant risks that may lead to adverse effects. These experts claim that there is a high risk of nerve damage, which may lead to even worse and irreversible hearing loss, cerebral spinal fluid leakage, taste problems and risk of infection after surgery, especially if the brain is abnormally formed and other related problems. These experts are right to in some ways. In fact, the United States Food and Drug Administration website lists these issues in addition to a few others, as the main disadvantages of cochlear implant surgery (U.S Food and Drug Administration, 4). At the same time, these devices are electronic making them susceptible to malfunction. They may also have other side effects on the inner ears and parts of the brain. The critic experts are of the view that other medical strategies, for example, stem cell research could provide better and risk free solution to hearing loss problems. That is yet to be proved in ears and hearing loss making cochlear implant surgery the only thing to hold to as of now. Conclusion Cochlear implants have proved to be very important in managing hearing loss problems. Some experts and people support this ingenious innovation while others critic it. Cochlear implants could be holding the better solution to hearing loss. However, there are other methods that have been proposed and may work much better. While those other strategies are in proposal stage or have worked in other body parts, cochlear implants have been proved to improve hearing remarkably. Even so, everything has its won advantages and disadvantages. Works Cited Hearing Loss Foundation. 2013 Researchers and projects. 2013. Web. 17 October 2013. http://hearinghealthfoundation.org/2013_researchers Heyning, Paul and Punte, Jeine. Cochlear Implants and Hearing Preservation. Basel: Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers, 2010. Print. Waltzman, Susan and, Roland, Thomas. Cochlear Implants. Stuttgart: Thieme, 2006. Print. Wilson, Blake, and Dorman, Michael. “Cochlear implants: A remarkable past and a brilliant future”. Elsevier August 2008: 3-21. Print. Sarant, Julia. Cochlear Implants in Children; A Review. Rijeka: Intech, 2012. Print. United States Food and Drug Administration. Benefits and Risks of Cochlear Implants. 2013. 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