How is an implant different from a hearing aid?
Cochlear implants differ from hearing aids in two important ways: 1. Hearing aids and other assistive listening devices amplify sounds so that they fall into the hearing impaired person’s range of hearing. A cochlear implant, on the other hand, transforms speech and other sounds into electrical current that is used to stimulate hearing nerve fibers in the inner ear. 2. Unlike hearing aids, cochlear implants have both internal (inside the body) and external (worn outside the body) components. A surgical procedure is needed to place the internal component of the implant.
