Deafness can be classified as pre-verbal, verbal and post-verbal depending on whether or not the person can speak when deafness occurs. Pre-speech deafness is deafness that occurred before the person could speak and therefore lost the opportunity to learn to speak.
1. Requirements for patients with prelingual deafness
(1) Severe or very severe sensorineural deafness in both ears.
(2) Optimal age of 12 months to 5 years.
(3) Wearing appropriate hearing aids and no significant improvement in hearing ability after 3 to 6 months of hearing rehabilitation training.
(4) No contraindication to surgery.
(5) Parents have reasonable expectations of the efficacy of the cochlear implant.
(6) The conditions for hearing rehabilitation training are available.
2. Requirements for patients with mid-speech deafness
(1) Severe or profound sensorineural deafness with progressive aggravation in both ears.
(2) Optimal age: 3 years to 5 years.
(3) No significant hearing improvement with appropriate hearing aids.
(4) No contraindication to surgery.
(5) Parents have reasonable expectations of the efficacy of the cochlear implant.
(6) The condition of hearing rehabilitation training is available.
3. Requirements for patients with postlingual deafness
(1) Patients of all ages with postlingual deafness.
(2) Severe or very severe sensorineural deafness in both ears.
(3) Little success in hearing aid fitting.
(4) No contraindication to surgery.
(5) Patients who are willing to return to the world of sound.
What kind of patients cannot be implanted with cochlear implants? Cochlear implants are mainly suitable for cochlear deafness, but not for post cochlear deafness.
1. Cochlear and auditory nerve factors
From an imaging perspective, the relative contraindications to cochlear implant surgery should be complete absence of the cochlea and severe narrowing of the internal auditory canal. The cochlear implantation is generally contraindicated when the diameter of the internal auditory canal is less than 2 mm because of the lack of auditory nerve and vestibular nerve in the internal auditory canal.
2. Middle ear infection
In patients with suppurative otitis media, the implantation of electrodes can bring the infection to the inner ear, which is very dangerous. In case of cochlear implantation, the otitis media lesion should be completely removed first. The onset of purulent otitis media is one of the contraindications to cochlear implantation.
3. Cochlear fracture
Cochlear fractures are likely to damage the vestibular cochlear nerve and render the cochlear implant ineffective. Therefore, a cochlear fracture resulting in damage to the auditory nerve is a contraindication to cochlear implantation surgery.
4. Mental illness
Electrical stimulation may stimulate the cerebral cortex, so mental illness is a contraindication to cochlear implant surgery.
5.Other
Cochlear implantation is also not considered as a contraindication to routine surgical procedures.