General CI Information
If you're looking for information on a specific CI
company or device, please see the appropriate information under major
CI manufacturers.
We have divided our CI information into a dozen or so
categories. This page contains general CI information. To access the
other categories, please see
our main CI page.
October 1999 - The 1999 ALDA Con
included a panel discussion featuring several cochlear implant users.
Here is a synopsis of that discussion.
February 2000 - The California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) presented a cochlear implant workshop in February 2000. Here is some
general cochlear implant information
presented by a panel of cochlear implant users and industry
representatives.
February 2000 - Also from the CSPP workshop is a summary
of a presentation given by Peg Williams, Executive Director of the
Cochlear Implant Association, formerly known as the Cochlear Implant
Club International (CICI). Her presentation was on cochlear
implants today and tomorrow.
June
2001 - Can Health Insurance Exclude Cochlear Implants?
November 2003 - Interested in a cochlear implant? The
2003 ALDAcon included presenters from each of the three major CI
companies, who provided all the latest information on their products.
Follow these links for the scoop!
Cochlear Corporation
Advanced Bionics
MedEl
October 2004 - You probably remember the controversial
movie a few years ago over the deaf parents who chose a cochlear implant
(CI) for their deaf child. Implanting children continues to be a
controversial topic in some parts of the hearing loss community.
January 2006 - Inmate wants CI
February 2006 - One Family, Four Cochlear Implants
February 2006 - Cochlear posts record bionic ear sales
March 2006 - Here's
Nancy Sokoler Steiner's insightful
article about Michael Chorost, author of "Rebuilt: How Becoming
Part Computer Made Me More Human."
August 2006 - Dr.
Naparko's HLAA Convention Presentation on Seniors and Cochlear
Implants
August 2006 -
Donna Sorkin's HLAA Convention Presentation on Seniors and Cochlear
Implants
August 2006 -
The Cochlear Implant Journey: Candidacy, Expectations,
and Aural Rehabilitation
September 2006 -
Cochlear Implant Comparison Table
November 2006 - 'Let Them Hear' Suspends
Program for Cochlear and Med-El Implants
November 2006 - Pretty
Good Cochlear Implant Primer
March 2007 - Digisonic
SP Cochlear Implant System
May 2007 - Here's our
coverage of the CI Workshop at the 2007 SayWhatClub conference
(Presentations by Advanced Bionics and Cochlear)
May 2007 - 11th Annual Cochlear Implant Conference Has
Important Implications for Patients
June 2007 - HLAA Position Paper on CIs
July 2007 -
Girl Gets CI Replaced After First One Failed
July 2007 - Brain's "hearing center" may
reorganize after implant of Cochlear device
November 2007 -
Indian Lab Develops Inexpensive Cochlear Implant
December 2007 -
Fighting Insurance
Companies for Cochlear Implant Benefits
January 2008 -
Envoy AllHear CI in the works
January 2008 - Preservation of
Hearing in Cochlear Implant Surgery
January 2008 -
Captioned CI Activation Session
February 2008 -
Michael Chorost, Electronic Listener
February 2008 - Swimming with a
cochlear implant
March 2008 - Cochlear implant recipients experience
improvement in quality of life
March 2008 -
Startup Promises Quicker CI and Hearing Aid "Tuning"
August 2008 - First Cochlear Implant Performed Thirty
Years Ago
September 2008 - Bringing Hearing to the Deaf. Cochlear
Implants: a Technical and Personal Account
September 2008 - Answering questions about a
Cochlear Implant
September 2008 - The History of Cochlear Implants -
Comparing the Cochlear Implant Manufacturers
September 2008 - JRRD Devotes Entire Issue to Cochlear
Implants
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 2001
Editor: I've heard several people say that they are unable to get a
cochlear implant (CI), because their insurance plan specifically
excludes it. Like many of you, I just accepted that position. But it
seems that things aren't quite so cut and dried. Such restrictions are
apparently unlawful, at least in employer-based plans. Here's a relevant
Q&A that recently appeared in NVRCNews. As always, thanks to NVRC
and Cheryl Heppner for their great work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: Can I work with a cochlear implant company to get health insurance
coverage for a cochlear implant when my insurance company has a written
exclusion?
A: Just because an exclusion is written into the plan doesn't mean
the plan can legally exclude cochlear implants. The EEOC [Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission] published guidelines for the ADA
related to employee health plans several years ago. The EEOC's position
(as supported by later legal opinions) has long been that exclusion that
are based solely on disability constitute unlawful discrimination under
the ADA. This applies to cochlear implants, because there is no
alternative treatment for those with profound hearing loss other than a
cochlear implant. EEOC counsel has agreed that blanket exclusions of
cochlear implants, at least by employer-based plans, are a
disability-based distinction.
The only way such a distinction can lawfully be made under the ADA is
for the plan to provide actuarial data demonstrating coverage of CI
would threaten the financial viability of the plan, or that cochlear
implants are not clinically effective.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2006
A
man charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of a fellow inmate at a
state prison 12 years ago wants Madison County to pay for a $60,000
operation that may restore his hearing so he can understand the
proceedings. Full
story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 2006
A
Rochester, New York, family of four all received cochlear
implants during one week in 2004. As “Deaf community”
members, how do their experiences compare with those of other
cochlear implant users? The Matchetts tell their story. Strong
Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, hit the jackpot when
Douglas and Mary Karol Matchett and both their children, Kara
and Scott, all received cochlear implants over one week in March
2004. Kara was nine and Scott 11 when they received their
implants. Full
Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 2006
Cochlear today reported a half-yearly net profit of $43.76 million, up 33 per cent. During the half, Cochlear achieved record revenue from all-time high sales of its implants. Cochlear expects $80 million earnings in 2005-06. Cochlear sold 6518 bionic ear units over the six months to December 31, 2005, up 30 per cent, with revenue jumping 34 per cent to $221.1 million. Core earnings for the first half were $47.3 million, up 43 per cent. Chief executive Chris Roberts described the first half performance as "exceptional", with growth of 35 per cent in Europe and 46 per cent in the Americas.
Full
Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March
2006
His
mother's letters to the [John Tracy Clinic], founded in 1942 by Spencer
Tracy and his wife, Louise, were the first steps in a journey through
hearing loss that Chorost has described in his book, Rebuilt: How
Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human (Houghton Mifflin, 2005). That
journey - from a severely hearing impaired toddler in suburban New
Jersey to the successful author holding his file in Los Angeles -
transcends mere time or geography. For Chorost, it has been a journey
from alienation to acceptance, from bystander to participant, and from
deafness to hearing. Full
Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August
2006
Many
dispensing professionals are surprised to see that clients with thresholds
in the severe range can make excellent candidates for cochlear implants.
This article provides an overview of implant candidacy, the current
prevailing ideas on what makes for the most successful CI users, and how
aural rehabilitation plays an important role in the implant process.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September
2006
It's
pretty easy to get information on cochlear implants. Manufacturers'
websites have a wealth of information, and there are several good email
lists on which users provide information about their particular implants.
And you've probably also noticed that articles about cochlear implants are
becoming more common in the mainstream press. What's harder to find is an
unbiased comparison of the various implants.
Here's a table that does that for the current and recent implants of the
three manufacturers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November
2006
But
they benefited from an implant that makes it possible for profoundly
deaf people to hear and learn to interpret speech and other sounds.
Perhaps as many as 1 million people in the United States could benefit
from a cochlear implant. For children born deaf or who lose their
hearing before they are verbal, the implants enable them to learn to
talk. The surgery cannot create normal hearing; people who receive it
can hear but might be described as having mild or moderate hearing loss.
That fact has rendered cochlear implants the subject of intense
controversy. Many in the deaf community say these less-than-perfect
devices can turn a healthy deaf person - who learned to communicate
using sign language, lip reading or both - into someone with a hearing
handicap whose self-image may be undermined.
Full
Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 2007
Many of us know about three cochlear implants that
are available in the US - from Advanced Bionics, Cochlear Corporation,
and Med-El. It turns out there is another manufacturer whose implants
are not available in the US. Read about them at:
http://www.neurelec.com/index.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 2007
At 5, Sarah Maners
got a cochlear implant in one ear, a device that according to the National
Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders uses electronic
impulses to stimulate a person's auditory nerve and give them a
representation of sound. The afternoon Sarah came home, she told her
parents she could hear birds singing. "It was just amazing," Aaron Maners
said. Today the family hopes to wonder yet again. Sarah, now 11, will
undergo surgery at Wolfson Children's Hospital for her second cochlear
implant after the first device failed this spring.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November 2007
The Naval Scientific Technological Laborataries (NSTL),known
for developing advanced defence technologies, plans to strike the right
chord in the lives of the hearing impaired by bringing out a low-cost
'Cochlear Implant' (CI) in its research and development wing. The NSTL
which normally produces weapons for the Navy has now taken up the social
cause and is evolving civilian friendly technologies. According to medical
experts, the CI, which is available in the US, Australia and Austria, will
cost between US USD 45,000 and 105,000 which includes surgery, device,
hospitalisation and insurance. But the NSTL initiative helps to bring the
device for Rs 1.5 lakh in India [Ed: About $3800].
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 2007
Since she launched a
program in 2004 challenging health insurers' denials of a device that
allows the deaf to hear, the East Palo Alto-based attorney has won every
one of the 325 cases now completed. Hundreds more appeals are in the
works, and the odds aren't in the insurance companies' favor. When she and
her clients prevail, however, Byrne-Haber noted they don't get a dime in
reparation. All her clients get is the ability to hear. "When we win, all
we win are medical services," said Byrne-Haber, director of the
insurance-advocacy program for the Let Them Hear Foundation in East Palo
Alto. She and her legal team represent, at no charge, not just foundation
patients, but hearing-impaired individuals nationwide denied treatment by
their insurers.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2008
The folks at Envoy have acquired the assets of the
AllHear CI developed several years ago by the folks at the House Ear
Clinic. The AllHear CI has a short electrode array that may not destroy
residual hearing, and the AllHear folks claim the device transmits all
frequencies to the brain, rather than a number of individual channels. It
appears that the device is not approved by the FDA or similar European
agencies, so is currently limited to experimental investigations.
http://www.allhear.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2008
Abbie posted her captioned CI activation session
to the Internet, and it's a really interesting chronicle of what happens
at a CI activation. See http://tinyurl.com/2r49w9
Also, Abbie captioned the video herself at
www.overstream.net - and she said it was a reasonably easy process!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 2008
Here's a very interesting multimedia presentation
on how the CI enables Michael Chorost to hear.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 2008
Millions of people suffer hearing problems, and
Melbourne entrepreneur Lee Krause plans to make a loud-and-clear statement
that the Melbourne company he co-founded could provide help. Audigence
Inc. is developing software that could significantly reduce the time it
takes to fine-tune cochlear implants. It also could be used for digital
hearing aids. If Krause and his team are able to forge agreements with the
right companies, it also could establish a major high-technology company
in Melbourne. Audigence Inc., with four employees in Melbourne and some
vital collaboration with University of Florida researchers, has developed
software technology allowing audiologists to help patients with cochlear
implants and general hearing problems to better understand speech. During
testing following cochlear implants, Audigence's computer technology
claims to better analyze patients' hearing ability and offer a much
quicker method of adjusting the devices.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 2008
Thirty years ago today at the Royal Victorian
Eye and Ear Hospital Professor Graeme Clark made medical history,
implanting the world's first prototype of the cochlear implant. The
pioneering technology turns sound waves into electrical signals through
electrodes surgically implanted inside the cochlea, part of the inner
ear. Since 1978, when Melbourne man Ron Saunders became the first
recipient of the implant, the technology has been fine tuned to produce
almost normal hearing in many patients. Research has shown that the best
results are yielded from implants fitted at an early age.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A presentation by Prof. Ian Shipsey, Ph.D
September 2008
Here's a great presentation on cochlear implants, but it also includes
a lot of information on the nature of hearing loss. It's been around for
awhile now, but still an excellent resource!
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 2008
Recently I was asked a lot of questions about what it's like to wear a
Cochlear Implant. Here's some of the questions and my answers.
Is there a stigma in wearing a Cochlear Implant?
Why do you only have one side implanted with a implant?
Should a Cochlear Implantee wear a hearing aid in my other ear?
How has having a Cochlear Implant improved my job prospects?
What does upgrading your processor mean?
What about sick leave from work to have the operation?
What is it like when your implant is switched on for the first time?
What's it like now that you've had the implant for a while?
Here are the answers!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 2008
Here's a great comparison of the three cochlear
implants available in the US. It was recently posted to his bhNEWS list by
Bob MacPherson. Here are his comments on the report: After many years of
researching and reporting on hearing loss and in particular the cochlear
implant, this paper is one of only two that I know of that appear to me to
be totally unbiased, as is this writer, in reporting the facts, based on
extensive research, on all of the three FDA approved CI makers in the US
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 2008
The Journal of Rehabilitation Research &
Development (JRRD), published by the Veterans Administration, has just
released their latest issue, and it's all about cochlear implants. I
haven't had time to read the entire issue, but what I have seen is
extremely interesting and well-written! For those who want to really know
what's going on with cochlear implants, this is your article!
Full Story
