What are the differences between hearing aids and cochlear implants

Hearing aids and cochlear implants are common hearing aids. Many people can’t tell the difference between them. Now, let’s have a look~

Different main components

The main components of hearing aid are microphone, amplifier and receiver;

Cochlear implant is composed of two parts: in vitro and in vivo. The external part includes microphone, speech processor, connecting wire and transmitting coil; the internal part includes receiving processor and electrode sequence.

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Different working principles

Hearing aid: the sound is collected by microphone and converted into electrical signal, then amplified by amplifier, and finally transformed into acoustic signal by receiver and transmitted to human ear;

Cochlear implant: microphone collects signals and converts them into electrical signals to speech processor. The speech processor analyzes how to stimulate the electrodes embedded in the cochlea, then transmits the instructions to the receiving processor in the body, and then directly stimulates the auditory nerve fibers in the cochlea through the electrode sequence in the body. The auditory nerve receives the electrical signals, and transmits them to the auditory center of the brain, and finally hears the sound.

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Different people

Hearing aids: suitable for people with residual hearing loss of various degrees;

Cochlear implant: it is suitable for people with hearing loss who have extremely severe or above sensorineural deafness, or who cannot improve their listening needs through hearing aids.

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Different wearing methods

Hearing aids: there are two types of ear back and customized. The ear back body is worn on the ear back and the earplug is in the ear. Custom fit is right in the ear. It’s easy to wear.

Cochlear implant: the electrode needs to be implanted into the patient’s cochlea through surgery, which has certain traumatic and surgical risks. If the implant has damage or failure, it needs to be re operated. Speech processor is an external device, which is not concealed.

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Different feelings for sound

Hearing aid: it is an electroacoustic amplifier in essence, so people with hearing impairment can regain the familiar sense of hearing. But after all, hearing aids are electronic products, and there will be a little electronic sound;

Cochlear implant: what you hear is actually an electrical stimulation, which is quite different from the natural sound. (for pre lingual deaf children, they have not heard the voice before the cochlear implant, and they will not understand its meaning, so the speech rehabilitation training after the operation is particularly important. Usually, children with pre lingual deafness need more than two years of speech rehabilitation training to achieve the desired results. )

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Different influences on daily life

Hearing aids: easy to wear and remove, no obvious impact on daily life;

Cochlear implant: it is recommended to bring cochlear implant identification card and discharge certificate with you when you go out. It is enough to explain the situation to the security inspector when you go out. Some external machines are sensitive to static electricity and X-ray, and may be interfered by the security gate and X-ray conveyor belt. It is recommended to turn off the external machine and hand it to the security inspector to avoid static Electric and X-ray damage; avoid close to strong magnetic field, including strong magnet, magnetic therapy machine, magnetic resonance examination room, etc.

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Other

Other hearing aids, such as hearing aids, are cheaper, ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands. Cochlear implant costs include a single cochlear implant device, surgery, postoperative adjustment, speech rehabilitation and battery maintenance. The total cost is 100 thousand -30 yuan.

Hearing aids are harmless to human body, while cochlear implants can damage residual hearing. (before cochlear implant, it is necessary to have a hearing aid wearing history of 3-6 months, so that the patients can hear some sound which is helpful for speech rehabilitation after operation.