Cochlear implants – wiring for sound
Box 3 | The bionic ear industry
The cochlear implant industry is an Australian success story. The cochlear implant market has grown strongly in recent years and this growth is expected to continue. An Australian-based company, Cochlear Limited, is the world market leader with the majority of users worldwide using the Australian device.
Growth of the industry is backed by research and development conducted in Australia and overseas. In Australia, the HEARing Cooperative Research Centre, the Bionic Ear Institute and the University of Melbourne are all involved in cochlear implant research. Ongoing research aims to:
- improve the cochlear implant by increasing understanding of
how electrical stimulation by the cochlear implant is perceived
by the users, and how best to present speech information to them;
- minimise the impact of noise on the clarity of the speech
signal provided by the cochlear implant;
- maximise the benefit that young children gain from the cochlear
implant;
- improve the understanding of how the auditory nerve fibres
and brain respond to the electrical stimulation of the cochlear
implant, including the testing of newer modes of electrical stimulation;
- develop new speech processing strategies through computer
simulations of the response of the auditory system to acoustic
and electrical stimulation;
- improve the design of the cochlear implant electrodes;
- improve pre- and post-operative clinical management;
- improve surgical procedures;
- develop a technique for direct electrical stimulation of the brainstem for deaf people who are unable to use the cochlear implant
- particularly those with few residual auditory nerve fibres;
- make the cochlear implant suitable for people who still have
some hearing;
- combine cochlear implant and hearing aid strategies, so that
people – particularly those with some hearing – can continue to
benefit from a hearing-aid once they have a cochlear implant;
- investigate the use of two microphones – one behind each ear
- to improve the perception of speech in noisy environments;
- develop a cochlear implant or hearing aid that resides entirely
under the skin; and
- develop ways of initiating auditory nerve regeneration to enhance the effectiveness of existing cochlear implant systems.
Even at its current level of sophistication, the cochlear implant has improved the lives of thousands of people. As science and technology continue to push the frontiers of hearing research, it seems inevitable that the capacity of the deaf to hear will only increase.
Boxes
Box 1. How the implant works
Box 2. The mathematics of hearing
Box 4. Breaking the silence
Related sites
HEARing Cooperative Research Centre
The Bionic Ear Institute
Cochlear Limited
Page updated August 2009.