I am a female, 26 years old, and my mother visited you two weeks ago on my behalf for a consultation. She has been stable and extremely deaf in her left ear and moderately to moderately deaf in her right ear since she was a child. she has been wearing a hearing aid in her right ear since she was 16 years old and it works well. Since 2008, the hearing in the right ear has fluctuated repeatedly. Previous treatment and results: Infusion and oral medication. What kind of help do I need: Can I get a cochlear implant for my left ear, which has been useless, so to speak? I mentioned that there was one case of poor cochlear implantation in a foreign country, but what were the details? Were the factors that affected the outcome finally identified? Was there any follow-up on that case? Was there a problem with the number and location of the remaining spiral ganglia? Or is it that the auditory conduction pathway in the poor ear is atrophied compared to the good ear? Or is it an auditory deprivation effect? And so on. I would like to know what you are referring to when you mentioned a 30-year period, but later you said 20 years. I hope you can answer this question in your busy schedule, thank you very much. Answer: The poor case was mainly due to the fact that the duration of auditory deprivation was too long and therefore the effect was not good. However, some literature says that it is not good for more than 30 years, but some literature says that it is not good for more than 20 years, mainly based on the consideration that the time of auditory deprivation is too long and that ear is similar to hibernation. However, medicine is a natural science, and a lot of knowledge is needed to be explored before knowing, so there will be a lot of miracles happen in medicine, which is the result of exploration. Question: Thank you for your prompt reply. I’d like to thank you for your prompt reply. Natural science is also an empirical science. While enjoying the experience of our predecessors, we also have to do experiments to accumulate experience for future generations, right? So, I’ll bet on my left ear? You can give me the odds of winning or losing. Based on existing experience, can an ear that has been deprived of hearing for a long time: can it be awakened? Is there an approximate ratio of cochlear implants and rehabilitated ears that eventually succeed in hearing and understanding language to those that have been poorly treated? Or is there a limit of 20 years and 30 years, after which time it is impossible to wake up? Then it’s not hibernation, it’s long sleep. Moreover, auditory deprivation is a subjective determination. What’s the reason? Is the central processing center automatically ignoring the side? Or is it a poor synaptic connection in the conduction pathway itself? I also have a problem with the spiral ganglion cells in my left ear. They are said to be an important factor in the effectiveness of the cochlear implant. Is it possible to measure the number and location? Can they degenerate after so many years? Sorry for the many questions. Allow me to agonize over which ear to operate on. Non-trivial. Thanks for the reply! Answer: After considering this for a long time, I think you should not bet on it, we need to analyze it rationally. Since you have an enlarged conduit, you will eventually lose the hearing in the right ear completely. Since you will eventually lose it, you might as well implant the right ear now, the effect is still certain. If you bet on the left ear and lose, and then you have no hearing in the right ear, then it is not cost effective. Hearing deprivation is like a road that we often see trampled out of the grass because it is close. That is to say, two roads, to the same destination, we must take the close one, and the other one will be abandoned after a long time, and the grass will grow, and then it will not be good to walk up. The cochlear electrodes stimulate the nerve fibers emanating from the ganglia, which do not degenerate, but the nerve fibers do. There is no way to measure the number of nerves, but their location is fixed and consistent for each person. The explanations in your reply are clear and concise, the replies to queries are not missed, the analogies are clear and the advice given is very pertinent. I am very lucky to have met such a dedicated and committed physician as you. …… flowers on the table.