Hearing Implant Program

Hearing Implant Experts in Central Massachusetts

UMass Memorial Health is home to one of New England’s most comprehensive Hearing Implant Programs and the only one in Central Massachusetts. Adults and children from New England and New York come to our Audiology Program for our expertise and wide range of hearing loss services.

Your Hearing Implant Care Team 

At UMass Memorial, you’re in the highly skilled hands of a team of hearing implant specialists. Your care team includes:

• Otologist and neurotologist: Our otologists and neurotologists are ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctors specializing in hearing implant surgery and other ear surgeries.
• Audiologist: These hearing specialists conduct hearing tests and can diagnose and manage hearing loss. Our audiologists help you learn to use a hearing implant and provide ongoing support.
• Speech-language therapist: Our speech-language therapists help you learn how to process sounds and hear with the hearing implant.

Understanding Hearing Implants (Cochlear Implants)

Hearing implants and cochlear implants are the same thing. These surgically implanted hearing devices send vibrations straight to the auditory nerve that connects to your brain. They bypass damage to your inner ear and cochlea, a tiny spiral-shaped cavity critical for hearing.

Hearing implants may help if a hearing test shows you have moderate or severe hearing loss in one or both ears. People born with severe hearing loss or deafness can also benefit from implants.

The two main parts of a hearing implant work together to help your brain process sounds: 

1. Exterior sound processor: This part of a hearing implant goes behind your ear or on your scalp. A microphone and receiver pick up sounds, convert them into electrical signals and send them to an implanted device. 
2. Internal hearing implant: The internal part of a hearing implant is surgically placed onto the temporal bone that surrounds the ear. A built-in receiver-stimulator picks up signals from the external sound processor and sends the signals to the brain.

Types of Hearing Implants We Offer

The hearing implant that’s right for you depends on many factors, including your age, severity of hearing loss and preferences.

We offer a full range of hearing implants:

• Bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA): This small device attaches to the bone behind your ear. It sends sound vibrations through the skull directly into the inner ear. 
• Hybrid cochlear implant: This device sends high-frequency sounds like birds chirping to an implanted device to make the sounds clearer. It also works like a hearing aid to make low-frequency sounds like thunder louder.
• Middle ear implant (MEI): This small device attaches to a bone in your middle ear to strengthen sound vibrations.

Hearing Implant Surgery: What to Expect

Surgery to place a hearing implant can take up to four hours. Cochlear implant surgery is an outpatient procedure that takes place under general anesthesia. You or your child sleeps through the procedure and goes home the same day.

After Hearing Implant Surgery: What to Expect

Your care team will provide instructions to aid recovery. The recovery process typically includes these steps:

• An audiologist will activate (turn on) the hearing implant in two to four weeks and make necessary adjustments. 
• Over the next couple of months, you meet with your audiologist, otologist and speech-language therapist to ensure the best hearing experience.