Advantages Of Cochlear Implant

PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS FROM COCHLEAR IMPLANT FITTED UNDER ADIP SCHEME IN INDIAN SCENARIO. Introduction :

A cochlear implant(CI) is an electronic device that provides hearing to people with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss by stimulating the auditory nerve with coded electrical signals Valente et al 2008; Yukawa et al 2004; Wilson et al 2005. It bypasses the damaged inner ear and directly stimulates the auditory nerve. In cases with severe to profound hearing losses even most digital hearing aids provide limited benefits. The CI is a prosthetic device, a part which is surgically implanted in the cochlea. CI have been found to be an effective treatment option for children with severe to profound hearing loss Valente et al.,2008;

Most of the time parents get help from the NGO or donating agencies /trust. This funding help depends upon the many factors such as CI recipients age, parent economic stability, medical documents, etc. According to the ADIP website 929 cochlear implant already been conducted by the Ministry of social justice and empowerment. There are similar criteria been set by the government of India for deciding the candidacy of the cochlear implant with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss, cutting age of six years. There are several studies, published on the outcomes of the cochlear implant in terms of speech perception, speech production. In Indian scenario the role of the parent is most important as a team member. Most of the time parents do not have enough funds due to high cost of surery. They need to arrange fund from the various agencies or NGOs. Frequent visits and relevant documents are required to arrange funds from such agencies. Parents after collection of fund they need to put efforts for detail audiological and radiological evaluation at various centre. After fitment of a CI, switch on, frequent mapping, speech therapy session, home training is needed. Archbold et al 2006 reported that parent information and experience and their perception of the process itself and expectations and outcome are likely to helpful to parents considering CI for their child with hearing impairment. Archbold et al. (2006) studied the perceptions of 101 parents considering decision-making and the process of implantation itself. The finding indicates that parents’ needs and experiences are varied from others, including implanting teams. Several studies analyzed parental views on the experience of implantation have found that helpful insight for another parent. Lin et al 2007 reported that parental positive and realistic perception helpful for a positive