COCHLEAR IMPLANT

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CONTENTS

Welcome to the Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence at the American Hospital Dubai Page 1

Our Objectives Page 1

The Team Page 1

Services Provided Page 2

Supporting Patients and Families Page 2

What is a Cochlear Implant? Page 3

How does a Cochlear Implant work? Page 5

What is an EAS/Hybrid Implant? How does it work? Page 6

Preparing for an Implant Page 7

Surgery Page 7

After Implant Surgery Page 8

Sound Processor Programming Page 8

Post Operative Aural Habilitation or Re/habilitation (Speech Language Therapy) Page 8

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Welcome to the Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence at the American Hospital Dubai

The Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence at the American Hospital Dubai specializes in the implantation of hearing devices to help deaf/hearing impaired children and adult patients to reach their full hearing potential.

Use of hearing implants improves communication and enhances quality of life. The center provides assessment, surgery and re/habilitation by a multidisciplinary team of highly qualified and experienced specialists.

Our Objectives

yTo help adults and children with severe/profound hearing impairment reach their potential using a Cochlear Implant and other related technologies while facilitating their integration into a hearing and speaking world.

yTo offer world class medical and surgical procedures for Cochlear Implantation and other technologies.

yTo provide children, adults and their families with world leading audiological care, assessment and management services.

yTo provide quality re/habilitation and ongoing management to maximize the benefits of Cochlear Implantation.

The Team

At the Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence you will find a multidisciplinary team of highly qualified audiologists, speech and language pathologists led by renowned implanting surgeon, Dr. Muaaz Tarabichi.

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SERVICES PROVIDEDyWe work with children and adult patients who are being evaluated for implantation

and provide follow up services to existing Cochlear Implant recipients.

yThe types of hearing implant devices we support include Cochlear Implants (CI), Electroacoustic Implants (EAS and Hybrid Implants) and Middle Ear Hearing Implants.

SUPPORTING PATIENTS AND FAMILIES

yComprehensive audiological evaluation to determine candidacy for Cochlear Implantation

yCounseling and guidance post implantation to ensure a patient’s hearing is optimized, that spoken language and/or hearing goals are met and that the family is prepared to provide moral and practical support.

yFor international patients, our Cochlear Implant coordinator is able to schedule and book required services as needed (specialty_sec@ahdubai.com)

yFor more information about implants and device manufacturers with offices in the UAE who fully support our Center, please visit the following websites:

www.cochlear.com

www.medel.com

www.advancedbionics.com

www.asha.org/public/hearing/Cochlear-Implant/

www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/

ImplantsandProsthetics/CochlearImplants/ucm062823.htm

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What is a Cochlear Implant?

A Cochlear Implant is a highly technical medical device designed to bypass damaged parts of the Inner Ear (Cochlea) and send electrical stimulation directly to the brain by way of the auditory nerve. The brain then interprets these signals as sound.

A Cochlear Implant does not restore normal hearing as we know it, but it can give a deaf person useful representation of sounds in the environment and help them understand speech. It can also improve the communication ability of people with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss who receive little or no benefit from conventional amplification.

The benefits of Cochlear Implantation depend on many factors, such as:

yDuration of deafness: the longer the duration of deafness, the more limited the benefits of implantation. As a group, patients who have been hearing impaired for a shorter period do better than those who have been hearing impaired for longer periods.

yAge at implantation: younger patients, as a group, do better than older patients who have been deaf for a long time.

yWhether the hearing loss was present before or after language skills were developed (pre-lingual or post-lingual).

yThe motivation of patients and their families.

yHow efficient and dedicated the learning support structure is pre and post implantation.

yThe intelligence, communicativeness of the patient and how quickly they learn.

yThe health and structure of the Cochlea.

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How does a Cochlear Implant work?

The Cochlear Implant system works in the following manner:

ySounds are picked up by a small, directional microphone located in the ear level processor.

yThe sound processor filters, analyzes and digitizes the sound into coded signals.

yThe coded signals are sent from the sound processor to the transmitting coil.

yThe transmitting coil sends the coded signals as FM radio signals to the Cochlear Implant under the skin.

yThe Cochlear Implant delivers the appropriate electrical energy to the array of electrodes inserted into the Cochlea.

yThe electrodes along the array stimulate the remaining auditory nerve fibers in the Cochlea.

yThe resulting electrical sound information is sent through the auditory system to the brain for interpretation.

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What is an EAS/Hybrid Implant? How does it work?

EAS and Hybrid Implants are part of the Electroacoustic hearing solution designed for patients who derive limited or no benefit from their hearing aids and still retain some hearing which makes them unsuitable for Cochlear Implants. This technology combines two elements to maximize and enhance communication, the first is a hearing aid to amplify low frequencies and the second is a Cochlear Implant to convert sounds to electrical impulses which directly stimulate the auditory nerve in the Cochlea. The impulses travel via the auditory nerve to the brain where they are interpreted as sound. This way the patient can hear low frequencies through the hearing aid and high frequencies through the Cochlear Implant resulting in a near normal hearing experience.

For more information visit:

http://www.cochlear.com/au/hybrid

http://www.c-a-network.com/hybridqns.php

http://www.medel.com/int/show/index/id/86/titel/EAS?PHPSESSID=ovpred2tovag8

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Preparing for an Implant

Patients considering implantation will meet with selected members of our implant team, including:

yENT Surgeon

yAudiologist

ySpeech-Language Pathologist

yCochlear Implant Coordinator

Team members conduct a comprehensive evaluation to assess each patient’s needs and determine the appropriate response. All types of implants may be considered from each device manufacturer. The patient and family members are included in the decision making process. After the evaluation is complete, the team meets to make recommendations. Our specialists continue to evaluate patients to ensure that their treatment is progressing satisfactorily.

Surgery

All implant surgery is performed at the American Hospital Dubai. The implantation procedure, which lasts approximately two hours, requires the use of general anesthesia. Patients arrive for surgery in the morning and generally go home the following day.

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After Implant Surgery

Sound Processor Programming

Patients are seen by the audiologist two to three weeks after surgery to activate the implant and familiarize the patient and family with the external components and supporting accessories.

Additional sessions are then scheduled with the audiologist and speech language pathologist on a quarterly basis or as needed.

Post Operative Aural Habilitation or Re/habilitation (Speech Language Therapy)

It is well documented that the best implant results are experienced when patients participate in an auditory re/habilitation program to maximize hearing and assist in developing speech and language skills.

Dr. Muaaz TarabichiENT Surgeon

Lubaina SharafallyAudiologist

Ghada AjamiehSpeech – Language Pathologist

Cochlear Implant Team

w w w . a h d u b a i . c o m

The first hospital in the Middle East to be awarded Joint Commission International Accreditation (JCIA)

The first private laboratory to be certified by the College of American Pathologists (CAP)