Overcoming hearing loss and deafness with hearing implants

Prof. Dr. Uwe Baumann, Head of the department Audiological Acoustics
University Medical Center Frankfurt on February 17, 2014

Depending on the extent of the hearing damage, hearing loss or deafness significantly reduces the quality of life and can even lead to severe depressive disorders. Today, with the use of modern hearing implants and structured life-long medical care, in almost all cases, damage in the middle or inner ear can be alleviated. When conventional hearing aids are no longer sufficient, and for example on the telephone or in conversation little can be understood, it should be checked whether a hearing implant can enable better medical care. Every year one out of 10,000 people in Germany suffers from unilateral deafness, for instance following an accident or sudden loss of hearing. Research has shown that also in these cases a cochlear implant can help improve directional hearing and understanding speech above background noise. If bilateral deafness exists from birth, early bilateral treatment and targeted stimulation makes essentially normal speech development and in many cases attending normal schools possible. This talk presented the various forms of hearing implant treatments and current audiological research results from the hearing lab at the University Clinic Frankfurt.