Dec 17, 2007 4:25 pm US/Eastern
Special Ear Implants Help Girl, Born Deaf, To Hear
Known As Cochlear Implants, Devices Help Brain Recognize Sound
BOSTON (CBS4) ―
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Cochlear implants worn on a child.
CBS
Eight-year-old Caroline Bass was born deaf, but the only signs of such are the external pieces of the cochlear implants she wears over her ears. She got the first of her two implants when she was 18-months-old and it was her idea to get the second one last January.
"I thought it would work better and I thought I would hear more," Bass said.
The device works by picking up sound on a tiny microphone. A speech processor sends a signal through the skin to the implant which is connected to the inner ear and the brain recognizes the signals as sounds. The parts connect with a magnet.
It takes time to get used to the implants. Caroline's mom, Mandy, helps the young girl adjust by reading to her each day.
Caroline had the procedure and surgery done at Children's Hospital, which Mandy Bass said, was a plus.
"Children's is a great hospital," Mandy Bass said. "They're so family oriented there and at the same time, kid oriented."
Marilyn Neault, Bass' audiologist said there are probably only around 3,000 people worldwide who have two cochlear implants as Caroline does. Neault said the second implant will move Caroline further into the hearing world.
"With the two together she'll be better able to focus on a voice in background noise and localize where a voice is coming from to know where to look," she said.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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