Today's Medical Topic: Cochlear Implants
First we need to discuss the choclea and sprial organ in your internal ear. Your cochlea/spiral organ recieves incoming sound waves as they are transferred from the external and middle. As the sound passes into the fluid filled cochlea different areas of the cochlea vibrate at different resonances.
These resonances move fluid which move hair cells which release a neurotransmitter and sends the sound via electrical impulse to the brain via the auditory nerve. The way these resonances are transmitted and what resonances get through along with some other structures of your ear process the sound before it gets to your brain.
Cochlear implants are sometimes called "bionic ears." They take the place of your cochlea and process the sound for you, effectively bypassing the cochlea all together.
My Research: Alrighty. Let's take a look.
1) So you can see here that a microphone picks up sound thereby bypasssing all of your ear structure to begin with and sends it to a speech processor which is a computer chip that processes and filters sound.
2) The speech processor takes the place of the cochlea and decides what should and should not be transmitted and sends the information to the transmitter.
3) The transmitter sends the info to the reciever/stimulator which converts the info into electrical impulses then sends the info directly to your auditory nerves, bypassing the cochlea completely.
The external parts of the device also contain the battery. All data and power is sent to the internal parts of the device through electromagnetic induction via the implanted magnet that also holds the external device in place on your head.
Because of how it works you do not hear sound the same way you would with a functioning cochlea. Your ear has thousands of hair cells connected to the auditory nerve. A compliment of 22 electrodes obviously cannot take its place. So the signal is different and it takes time for your brain to understand the signals, but eventually they become distinct enough to discern speech and important enviromental noises.
1) So you can see here that a microphone picks up sound thereby bypasssing all of your ear structure to begin with and sends it to a speech processor which is a computer chip that processes and filters sound.
2) The speech processor takes the place of the cochlea and decides what should and should not be transmitted and sends the information to the transmitter.
3) The transmitter sends the info to the reciever/stimulator which converts the info into electrical impulses then sends the info directly to your auditory nerves, bypassing the cochlea completely.
The external parts of the device also contain the battery. All data and power is sent to the internal parts of the device through electromagnetic induction via the implanted magnet that also holds the external device in place on your head.
Because of how it works you do not hear sound the same way you would with a functioning cochlea. Your ear has thousands of hair cells connected to the auditory nerve. A compliment of 22 electrodes obviously cannot take its place. So the signal is different and it takes time for your brain to understand the signals, but eventually they become distinct enough to discern speech and important enviromental noises.
Send questions or comments to dudaday@gmail.com
Disclaimer: I am not a health care provider, any information presented in this blog should not be considered advice it is mearly an outlet to slake my curiosity. You should always consult your primary medical provider for any concerns or illness. Unlike Tylenol, I am not approved by the FDA or American Medical Association to treat or provide relief for any ailment.
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