Please see our Resources section for more detailed and specific information.

A variety of communications methodologies are used by deaf and hard-of-hearing persons including:

• speech reading
• sign language
• spoken language with the help of hearing aids and cochlear implants

Among hearing devices, cochlear implants are the most successful medical intervention for those severely-to-profoundly deafened. The cochlear implant does not amplify sound like a conventional hearing aid. Instead, it delivers electrical impulses to the auditory nerve which, in turn, sends information to the brain.

How does a cochlear implant work?
The cochlear implant bypasses damaged parts of the inner ear (hair cells) by directly stimulating the nerve cells connected to the brain.

Current technology uses a microphone and speech processor worn outside of the ear to collect sound and speech information. The device looks much like a conventional hearing aid. The information collected is then sent wirelessly to the surgically implanted device, called the “receiver-stimulator.”

The receiver-stimulator is a small electronic device surgically implanted under the skin and behind the ear. The receiver-stimulator has a special wire, called the "electrode array," that is gently inserted into the inner ear during the implant surgery.

The electrodes electrically stimulate the deaf inner ear, allowing the sound and speech information to be carried to the brain by way of the auditory nerve.

Please see our Resources section for more detailed and specific information.