What is a Cochlear Implant?

A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. The implant consists of an external portion that sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin. An implant has the following parts:

  • A microphone, which picks up sound from the environment.
     
  • A speech processor, which selects and arranges sounds picked up by the microphone.
     
  • A transmitter and receiver/stimulator, which receive signals from the speech processor and convert them into electric impulses.
     
  • An electrode array, which is a group of electrodes that collect the impulses from the stimulator and send them to different regions of the auditory nerve.
     
  • An implant does not restore normal hearing. Instead, it can give a deaf person a useful representation of sounds in the environment and help him or her to understand speech.

Source: National Institutes of Health