by Cochlear Guest Author

Upcoming Obsolescence

March 5, 2019

The Cochlear™ Baha® 4 Sound Processor will become obsolete on March 31, 2019 in both the US and Canada. The Cochlear™ Nucleus® 5 Sound Processor will become obsolete on March 31, 2019 in the US and on June 30, 2019 in Canada. This means that beginning on the obsolescence dates, Cochlear will no longer sell parts or accessories for the obsolete sound processors and will no longer repair or support them. Your patients may continue to safely use their obsolete sound processors in accordance with your professional care.

Please be assured that Cochlear’s decision to phase out production and support of aging technology is made carefully, considering multiple factors, and that Cochlear has available updated sound processor technology that is compatible with your patients’ current implant so that they can continue to hear without the need for additional surgery.

If your patients have any questions about insurance coverage or other insurance benefit related questions, please direct them to Cochlear’s Billing and Insurance Services team at 1-800-633-4667, Option 2.

If you have any questions, please email us at ProCare@Cochlear.com

Author

Cochlear Guest Author

In an effort to keep our content fresh and reflective of a diverse industry, Cochlear Americas features a mix of employees and professional partners to contribute to Cochlear ProNews as Guest Authors.

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Cochlear Link connection

June 1, 2020

Interview with Mila Duke, AuD

Manager of Audiology Employee & Student Development at Hearts for Hearing

What initially drew you to field of audiology?

I have always had to desire to work in medicine and/or with children. I was initially introduced to this field by my aunt who is a speech-language pathologist and thought it would be a nice combination of my interests. As with most audiologists, after taking my first introduction to audiology course as an undergraduate, I quickly discovered that audiology would be my calling instead. The rest is history!

What Cochlear resources or services do you and your patients find most helpful during their cochlear implant journey?

Many patients who are either just starting their cochlear implant journey or have been implanted for a while thrive by talking with other recipients about their experiences. Some ways patients can do this is through engaging in the Cochlear volunteer program, attending Cochlear Celebration or attending local Hearing Loss Association of America meetings. We feel that the patients who are most successful with their cochlear implants have a strong working knowledge of their technology and realistic expectations. Further, I offer any resources or services that I feel will best educate my patients.

How has the current global environment changed the way you deliver care? How will telehealth change the clinical care landscape?

We live in an area where patients typically drive on average an hour each way to our clinic. Telehealth will provide us the ability to serve patients who may not have the resources to make the trip to see us before, during and after this global pandemic. Many of our older and/or immunocompromised patients may be nervous to return for needed programming, and telehealth will provide us with an opportunity to help serve these patients.

How has Cochlear provided remote support to you and your patients during this time?

During the COVID pandemic, we have been able to request new equipment for patients using the myCochlear Clinic professional portal. With Cochlear Link, there is hardly any delay sending the processor(s) to the patients’ homes. We have also watched many professionally-based online webinars that have provided wonderful learning experiences while working remotely.

How long has your clinic utilized Cochlear Link?

We were fortunate to be a part of the pilot program and started using Cochlear Link in 2015.

What are the benefits of Cochlear Link?

Cochlear Link has been critical in our efforts to provide the best care for our patients. Our clinic has grown extensively in the last few years which has led to an even greater need for a program like Cochlear Link. It has also saved our clinic precious resources by cutting down on the time needed to upload MAPs, register processors, etc.

How has Cochlear Link saved time?

In the second year using Cochlear link, we saved approximately 260 clinic hours and reinvested this time with our patients. This is huge and the number has only grown as we’ve added more audiologists and patients to the clinic.

Does it allow you to see more patients?

Absolutely. Audiologists and audiology assistants can now spend more time counseling and educating patients on cochlear implant equipment, which as I mentioned previously, is one of the factors that we feel helps patients succeed.

For more information, subscribe to Cochlear ProNews.

About the author:

Dr. Mila Duke is an audiologist at Hearts for Hearing in Oklahoma City, OK. Dr. Duke received both her Bachelor’s degrees in Speech and Hearing Science and her Doctorate of Audiology (Au.D.) at the University of North Texas. Dr. Duke completed her externship at Hearts for Hearing where upon graduation, she joined the team full time in 2013. At Hearts for Hearing, Dr. Duke sees a variety of clinical patients including adult and pediatric evaluations, hearing aids and cochlear implants. Dr. Duke serves as a coordinator for audiology students who complete clinical rotations at Hearts for Hearing.

Why aural rehabilitation following cochlear implant surgery is key

February 11, 2021

By Abraham Jacob, MD

Aural rehabilitation, or hearing therapy, following implant surgery is instrumental to auditory redevelopment. We see with our brains, we smell with our brains and we hear with our brains, but unfortunately our brains can overcorrect in areas when utilization isn’t warranted. If an individual isn’t applying the areas of the brain devoted to hearing, the brain may in fact dedicate those resources normally committed to such to address other needs. It may even revert to support other senses such as vision. Many seeking cochlear implantation have retreated into silent worlds – for many years and perhaps even a decade. Dedicated, daily listening practice after implantation is required to push the brain forward and reconnect to sound.

Therapy approaches may vary from patient to patient depending on the severity and timing of the hearing loss. With any type of therapy, it may take some time to see improvements and the length of time devoted to such varies depending on whether the individual was able to use a hearing aid in their ear before cochlear implantation. The availability of opportunities patients had for listening and conversation with the hearing aid is also integral.

Impact of consistent aural rehabilitation

Regular hearing therapy during the first few months following surgery can be beneficial and should be started immediately after initial activation of the sound processor. Just like knee or hip surgery, if one does not tend to the appropriate physical therapy, especially early on, the ability to achieve full range of motion with a new joint and walk affectively are simply not as good as if the effort is put in at the onset.

Patients should be directed to expose themselves to sound-rich environments, particularly environments with much speech input. This is critical to making progress with their cochlear implants. If patients don’t re-engage orally with their friends, family and other loved-ones, the implant may not be as effective. For example, if one spends only 30-60 minutes of time in sound-rich environments in a 12-14-hour day, there may still be no progress.

There needs to be a concerted effort by the individual to expose themselves to sound a good portion of the day. The device alone will not provide the long-awaited sound the patient will appreciate.

Insights

The data logging feature of the sound processor will provide the patient and audiologist with insights into the actual “air time” or use of the device and the patient’s exposure to sound enriched environments, making it easy to track therapy efforts and optimize further clinical practice or direction.

There may be times when an implanted patient will want or need to do some refresher therapy as well, such as following an upgrade to new cochlear device technology, or when adding additional accessories to improve their listening experience in various environments such as noise or music appreciation.

For more information about aural rehabilitation, download Cochlear’s adult home-based hearing therapy manuals and subscribe to Cochlear ProNews.

About the author:

Abraham Jacob, MD

Medical Director – Ear & Hearing at Center for Neurosciences
Medical Director for Otology/Neurotology Services – Tucson Medical Center

President – Arizona Society of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery

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