Imagine living your life without being able to hear your Mom say, "I love you!" Imagine what it would be like not to hear your favorite song on your iPod. Well, at least three of every 1,000 babies born each year* comes into the world with no ability to hear music or the sound of their parents' voices. They are deaf and must spend their lives learning American Sign Language, as well as trying to adapt to a world that is more easily lived in by people who can hear. Another 5-20 people per 100,000 people lose their hearing every year.* Add to that one third of the elderly population* and it equals a lot of people who cannot hear. For some deaf persons, there is hope. Modern medicine has made it possible to change lives with a device called the cochlear implant. This type of device sends an electrical impulse to the auditory nerve inside the ear in order to help a person hear sound. Here's a picture:
Image courtesy of http://trialx.com/curetalk/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2011/05/diseases/Cochlear_Implants-2.jpg
From all of the labels, you can clearly tell that the ear is a pretty complex part of our bodies. There are the three small bones--the malleus (hammer), the incus (anvil), and the stapes (stirrup)--as well as the eardrum, the cochlea, and the auditory nerve. To these original parts of the body, inside the ear, the doctors add the receiver and the wire (electrodes) that connect the nerve to a microphone, speech processor, and transmitter on the outside of the ear. With this device, deaf persons or those who have lost their hearing might begin to understand sounds. Modern medicine is even making it possible to help those people with more challenging hearing issues, like Grayson. Watch the following video:
As the video explains, Grayson was born with nerve damage and so he required a special type of implant that includes an auditory brain stem implant. It's hard not to feel affected by Grayson's story. It does seem like a modern miracle. The next time you see a kid on the playground with a hearing aid or similar device behind his or her ear, you should ask them about it. Maybe they are one of the lucky ones.
Considering the number of people with hearing loss problems, especially older persons, you would think that everyone would get a cochlear implant. However, most people with hearing loss will deny their problem for seven years* before seeking help. Even more surprising, only 7% of those people that could be helped by cochlear implants actually have them.* Think about your grandparents. Do any of them have a difficult time watching television? Do you think they might have a better life with such a device? Try talking to them about it. You might actually let them know about a way to help their quality of life.
Technology like this is just one of many newer and developing pieces of machinery that doctors are connecting to the human body. When you become an adult, I imagine that you will see even more amazing things where doctors are attaching a piece of machinery to the body. At some point in the future, we may be perfectly normal to be a cyborg.
*Hearing loss stats. (2011). Cochlear Implant Online. Retrieved on November 17, 2013 from http://cochlearimplantonline.com/site/cochlear-implant/hearing-loss-stats/
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