Confessions of a Bionic Man

[rayofreason]

My life has changed even more than most: I have information technology inside my body. I'm deaf, having had rubella (German measles) before I was born. Fortunately, the damage wasn't complete, so I was able to get by with hearing aids until 2001. Then my "good" ear abruptly quit working, for reasons that are still unknown. My hearing aids couldn't help me anymore, just as glasses can't help a blind person.

Now I have a cochlear implant in each ear. At first glance, they look like behind-the-ear hearing aids -- but the technology is totally different. They digitize sound and broadcast the data through quarter-size radio transmitters. The transmitters are stuck to my head, behind my ears, using magnets.

The data are picked up by implants countersunk into my skull, which send the information to 16 electrodes in my inner ears. The electrodes trigger my auditory nerves with tiny, precisely targeted shocks, making them send sound information to my brain.

My implants don't aid my hearing. They create my hearing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/11/AR2008041103260.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

[TlalocW]

1. Cool

While I'm happy for you, I was kind of hoping that you could run really fast although for some reason while doing so it would appear you were running in slow motion, and we would hear electronic na-na-na-na-na sounds.

TlalocW

[rayofreason]

4. The story is not about me.

But it is a wonderful story anytime science can give hope to those who in times past had no recourse.

[seasat]

2. My twin sons have cochlear implants.

They've been fantastic. They are almost three and have steadily improved their speech. They even like to sing and dance. While they don't have the same hearing as I do, their sensitivity to certain sounds is greater than mine. They can hear an approaching airplane before I do. Their implants have 22 different frequencies versus the 16 mentioned in the article. The implants take the normal sound range and break it up from 30,000 different frequencies into 22 with most focused in the range of human speech. A software improvement that may come out soon could provide them with up to 100 different frequencies. It's amazing technology.

[rayofreason]

3. Wonderfull

I have been blessed with strong natural senses. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be seriously impaired, except to know in an intellectual way that my appreciation of the world around me would be significantly diminished. That technology can provide for those who for whatever reasons have a severe sensory deficit is one of the most under appreciated aspects of the application of science, and it is what motivated me to post this story. Bring on more of this I say!