hearbetter – the expert network for better hearing

There is no upper age limit for hearing implantation. Cochlear implantation is performed on children in their first year of life, in many countries bilaterally in one surgery. Very old patients without contraindications can also receive a cochlear implant. Please note the minimum age for children qualifying for a middle ear or bone conduction implant. (Minimum age for VIBRANT SOUNDBRIDGE, BONEBRIDGE: 5 years).

Thanks to better surgical methods and structure-preserving electrodes, residual hearing can be preserved more often and better after cochlear implantation. Better speech understanding in noise and better music appreciation are two key benefits for patients, as studiesshow.

Cochlear implant surgeries are among the safest, least risky ENT surgeries. Implant reliabilty is extremely high. The failure rate for medical reasons is at 0.5%, according to a long-term study. Manufacturers publish precise product reliabilty rates on their websites. In certain cases hearing implant surgery can be done under local anesthesia. A study on this topic can be found here.