A member of our Division of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Smouha is an otolaryngologist with expertise in the relatively new surgical discipline of otology-neurotology that focuses on disease of the ear, hearing and balance. Dr. Smouha initiated our cochlear implant program through a collaboration with members of Stony Brook's clinical program in hearing, speech and language. And the lives of the patients with deafness treated by him have been dramatically changed for the better now that after years of hearing loss, they can hear again.
Cochlear implantation represents a new technology that allows profoundly deaf patients to hear.
It is a high-tech form of surgery for patients with profound bilateral deafness who cannot benefit from conventional hearing aids. The operation involves implanting an electronic device through the mastoid bone, behind the ear. The implant has an electrode array that is tunneled into the inner ear, next to the hearing nerve. When connected to an external microprocessor that resembles a hearing aid, the implant analyzes incoming sounds and produces a series of electrical impulses that directly stimulate the hearing nerve. According to Dr. Smouha, cochlear implant surgery has achieved splendid results in selected patients, and is suitable for treating profoundly deaf adults and children 2 years of age and older.