Consensus Study Says Cochlear Implants Can Help People With Severe Hearing Loss Today - Forbes

Cochleal Implant, New Generation Cochlear Implant. (Photo By BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty ... [+] Images)

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On August 2, 2020, Elon Musk, announced that Neuralink allegedly had a brain chip that would allow people to hear sounds they had never heard before.

But some hearing researchers, nose and throat surgeons and audiologists, say that cochlear implants could help millions of adults hearing now.

On August 27, 2020, a group of international hearing experts published a consensus paper in JAMA Otolaryngology. It lays the groundwork to set a minimum global standard of care for cochlear implantation, including diagnosis, referral, treatment and aftercare for adults living with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss.

Professor Gerard O’ Donoghue, steering committee member and Professor of Otology and Neurotology at the University of Nottingham, UK said that Neuralink gives us a glimpse of an incredibly exciting future where technology can augment and assist people suffering from a range of conditions, including hearing loss.

“It is important to recognize, however, that life-changing hearing technology already exists, yet isn’t being accessed by thousands of people who could benefit from it,” added O’Donoghue. “It is this backdrop that makes the new global scientific consensus on cochlear implantation so significant.”

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A cochlear implant is an electronic device bypasses the part of the ear that isn’t working and sends sound directly to the hearing nerve.

The paper, authored by a new alliance, including 31 hearing experts from surgical and audiology backgrounds, and seven representatives from patient and professional societies from more than 13 countries, can improve the standard of care for patients.

Philip Robinson, Consultant Adult and Pediatric ENT and Cochlear Implant surgeon at University Hospitals Bristol and Director West of England Hearing Implant Programme, said untreated hearing loss isn’t a harmless condition.

“It has serious emotional and social consequences, including loneliness and depression,” said Robinson. “These issues could become even more pronounced as a result of COVID-19. Those with hearing loss often really rely on visual clues when communicating, and lip-reading becomes impossible when we wear masks, exacerbating issues of isolation.”

“For those people who don’t derive adequate benefit from even the most powerful hearing aids, cochlear implants provide a vital means to communicate and participate in society: tasks like using the phone or traveling on public transport can potentially be revolutionized by having a cochlear implant,” added Robinson.

One in eight people in the United States, 30 million people aged 12 years or older, has hearing loss in both ears. An estimated 900,000 people in the UK live with severe to profound hearing loss and could benefit from an assistive hearing device, such as a cochlear implant.

Professor Helen Cullington, Chair of British Cochlear Implant Group, said she sees the impact of severe to profound hearing loss on patients every day in the clinic.

“This affects so many areas of their lives from employment, social interaction, and mental well-being,” said Cullington. “A majority of people with this level of hearing loss could benefit from a cochlear implant, yet only five percent are getting access to one.”

“As an audiologist, it is frustrating to know that people are missing out on a potentially better quality of life,” added Cullington.