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Mayo Q&A w/ Dr. Raymond: Cochlear Implant & Hearing July 1
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) | Last Active: Jul 20 9:51pm | Replies (22)Comment receiving replies
I do not hear very much with my existing (and expensive) hearing aids but my ophthalmologists assure me I do not qualify for cochlear implants and won't for many years. That said many of my friends have cochlear implants and they indicate they were not as deaf as I am when they got them. Is there some recent change that affects when you qualify for implants or are my doctors just trying to keep me spending a small fortune (~$7000) on new hearing aids? I am getting very frustrated at not being able to go to places with a group of people or engage in conversations with more than one person at a time.
Replies to "I do not hear very much with my existing (and expensive) hearing aids but my ophthalmologists..."
There have been some recent changes that do allow more patients to qualify for cochlear implants. To understand if you could be a cochlear implant candidate, you would first want to understand if going through the evaluation is worthwhile. I generally say that if your pure tone average (PTA) in your better ear is worse than 60 dB and your word recognition score (WRS) is worse than 60%, then going through the cochlear implant evaluation is worth it. In this evaluation, your hearing would be tested with your hearing aids to 1) ensure that you meet FDA and insurance criteria and 2) help your audiology/ENT team talk through expectations for improvement
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@ifserpal
Did you mean audiologists?
My advice to you would be to get your hearing tested at a medical center that does cochlear implant surgery.