Patients have generally much improved awareness of sounds around them. This can be very helpful for safety issues, such as hearing an oncoming car. A few patients are actually able to regain an appreciation for music, but this is less common. Interestingly, the exact cause of hearing loss does not affect whether a patient will benefit from a cochlear implant. As more and more patients with different types of ear disorders receive cochlear implants, we are finding that the cause is generally not important.
Patients have the potential to do well with many, many different causes of hearing loss.
One important note is that patients who are deafened from meningitis and develop new bone inside the inner ear do not have as much benefit from an implant as other patients. Patients are initially evaluated in the ENT office at Eastern Carolina Ear, Nose, and Throat. A search is made for potentially treatable causes of hearing loss. If the patient has not yet tried hearing aids, a hearing aid trial is begun. If the patient is not sufficiently successful with hearing aids, then a complete cochlear implant audiological evaluation is carried out at the East Carolina University Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders .