Hybrid Cochlear Implants allow individuals to keep their hearing ability (Image courtesy of Cochlear™ Ltd).
Hybrid Cochlear Implants are designed for people with severe, high-frequency hearing loss who still have the ability to hear lower frequencies (pitches).
As Presbycusis or age-related hearing loss occurs in the higher frequencies first, Hybrid Cochlear Implants can become a viable option for older adults who no longer have any hearing benefits from wearing hearing aids.
Having Hybrid Cochlear Implants are only a small part of the hearing loss management journey to have better hearing. When you make a decision to have Hybrid Cochlear Implants it should be part of an overall therapy program with a qualified hearing health professional, such as an audiologist, who can work with you to help your brain to make sense of the new information being sent by the implants.
How Hybrid Cochlear Implants Work
Hybrid Cochlear Implants use Electro-acoustic Stimulation (EAS) to improve an individual’s hearing. This means it combines the electro-stimulation technology used in normal Cochlear Implants with the acoustic amplification technology used in Hearing Aids. Combining these technologies allows the wearer to have sound sensations in the higher frequencies while the hearing aid technology amplifies the sounds being heard in the lower frequencies. Where exactly the Cochlear Implant technology takes over from a Hearing Aid depends on an implantee’s unique kind of hearing loss.
Another important part of the Hybrid Cochlear Implant technology that has made it a successful hearing device is its slim electrode design. The streamline design of a Hybrid Cochlear Implant Electrode also known as the Hybrid Electrode Array provides a smoother, less damaging insertion into the Cochlea that preserves the low-frequency hearing nerve cells so implantees keep their residual hearing ability.
The HEARing CRC has played an instrumental role in the development of the Hybrid Electrode Array – an integral part of the Hybrid Cochlear Implant that allows the preservation of residual, low-frequency hearing in implantees.
To find out more about how a Hybrid Cochlear Implant works watch the video below.
