Technology

A few posts ago we talked a bit about what sound and noise are. Noise can be a big issue for any listener and especially for someone with a cochlear implant.

For someone who’s received a cochlear implant in their teen or adult years, their hearing is likely to change during the first few months after activation. Many recipients will say that the low frequency sounds start to get fuller, deeper, and more natural. But why does this change happen?

Cochlear implants have become an increasingly common treatment for hearing loss, but it wasn’t always that way. In the 1990s, there were very strict requirements that would have excluded many of today’s recipients.

At MED-EL, we’ve always supported hearing in both ears. For someone with a severe-to-profound bilateral hearing loss, a cochlear implant may be the best option. But many people are unable to, or choose not to, receive two cochlear implants. So, for someone who has only one cochlear implant—what should be done with the second ear?

Tinnitus. If you can think of a more persistently annoying hearing-related word let us know. Tinnitus is a “ringing, buzzing, roaring, or hissing sound without any external acoustic source”,1 and studies have shown that it affects between 10-15% of adults2 and up to 30% of those age 55 or older.3 Perhaps not surprisingly, it’s closely