Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Ear implants for the deaf with no strings attached

This is really going to give a boost to the people who really are in need of it.

Now a tiny microphone implanted in a person's ear will provide them with continuous hearing day and night. The technology is called as COCHLEAR implants.



These implants can't be worn all the time because only a small part of the device is actually inside the cochlea. A fragile external unit containing the power supply, processors and microphone has to be hooked onto the ear and linked magnetically to the implant beneath the skin.

Since it's not Water-Proof so,  Patients can't normally wear them in the shower, the rain or when they swim.

Inspite of the external sounds, a patient wearing this would also be able to hear some internal sounds too. That is also the upcomming challenge for the manufacturers to subtract the internal sounds so as to give the realistic environment for the patient.