Here's an update on the first Active Duty AF member to receive a cochlear implant (.pdf format).

Wilford Hall Cochlear Implant Program

Our mission is to provide access to the latest cochlear implant technology and rehabilitation through the expertise of our multidisciplinary cochlear implant team.

What Is A Cochlear Implant?

A cochlear implant is an electronic device designed to provide useful hearing and improve communication ability to a patient who has lost hearing or allow someone to hear for the first time. The implant works by changing sound into electrical impulses. These impulses stimulate the hearing nerve fibers, which the brain interprets as sound.

Program

Candidates for a cochlear implant start the implant process by having their hearing and speech tested at the implant center. Patients will also undergo a complete medical evaluation. Potential candidates undergo a complete evaluation by the cochlear implant team. This is where patients and their families get to know the members of the implant team. The implant team consists of a neurotologist (surgeon), audiologist, speech-language pathologist, psychologist, clinical social work and aural rehabilitation therapist.

Candidate Selection

Children: (12 months through 17 years)

• Children should be at least 12 months old with profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears. A profound loss is a hearing threshold of 90dB or greater.
• Little or no benefit from hearing aids.
• Children and the entire family must have high motivation and appropriate expectations. It is also important the child have access to an educational environment that emphasizes the development of auditory skills.

Adults: (18 yrs or older)

• Demonstrate a severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears (7OdB or greater).
• They should be unable to understand speech with hearing aids.
• A desire to be part of the hearing world
• Adults with heating loss acquired after, learning oral speech and language (post-linguistic) are the best candidates.

Surgery

During surgery the internal components of the cochlear implant are permanently placed underneath the skin. A neurotologist, who specializes in this type of surgery performs the operation. Surgery will be discussed in more detail at the implant center.

Rehabilitation

About six weeks after surgery, the rehabilitation process begins with a return to the implant center. This is when the patient is fitted with the external components: the microphone, headset and speech processor. This is also when the initial activation of the device occurs. The rehabilitation process is time consuming, and requires dedication but certainly worth the investment.

Benefits

Children develop a range of results in both speech understanding and speech production. Generally benefits may include:

• The detection of conversational level environmental sounds, including speech. Many can identify words/speech without lip reading.
• With training and experience many children have improved speech production.
• Identification of everyday sounds, such as: car horns, doorbells, and birds singing.

Adults who have had normal hearing with gradual loss are the best candidates for implantation. Pre–linguistically deafened adults demonstrate limited benefit from a cochlear implant. Adult patients tend to rehabilitate quickly. Generally benefits may include:

• Improved ability to hear conversational and environmental sounds.
• The ability to understand speech in quiet and noise without lip reading.
• Some patients have the ability to use the telephone.

Contact

Wilford Hall Medical Center
2200 Bergquist Dr. Suite 1
Lackland AFB, TX 78236
Phone: 210/292-5421/7079
Fax: 210/292-4483