Pacific Neuroscience Institute Cochlear Implant Program

310-829-6595

Mon – Fri: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Pacific Neuroscience Institute Cochlear Implant Program

Mon – Fri: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

310-829-6595

Our Approach What to Expect

Our Approach

Our comprehensive team of specialists — including neurologists, neurotologists, otolaryngologists, audiologists and head and neck surgeons — are dedicated to delivering personalized, holistic care to both adult and pediatric patients. We specialize in cochlear implants that help restore hearing in patients who no longer benefit from traditional hearing aids or have hearing loss in one ear.

A cochlear implant stimulates nerves to provide auditory understanding and help people understand speech again. Our implants are FDA approved for infants as young as 9 months and can be approved off-label for younger ages.

In addition to providing leading-edge cochlear implant procedures that lead to better patient outcomes and an improved quality of life, we provide resources, education and counseling to help you or your child navigate hearing loss.

Choosing Pacific Neuroscience Institute (PNI) for your hearing health provides you with many benefits, including:

Experience and expertise – Our team has extensive knowledge diagnosing and treating complex hearing disorders.
Collaborative care – We take a multidisciplinary approach to your care, meaning our surgeons, specialized audiologists, brain health neurologists, verbal and speech therapy partners meet routinely to discuss your individual needs and treatment options.
Accessible care – In addition to providing you with a collaborative approach to care, we also ensure it’s accessible. We offer specialized care to the community, including same-day services for audiology, otology, vestibular assessment, vaccine administration and imaging.
Support – At PNI, we walk the hearing health journey with you. Our in-house team helps schedule your visits and ensure you’re always at the center of the decision-making process.
Innovation – We stay on top of the latest research to make sure you receive the most advanced cochlear implant care possible.
Second opinions – Our team can review your medical records and meet with you either in person or virtually to help you make an informed decision about your care.

What to Expect

We perform an evaluation to see how hearing aids work for you and then determine if you’re a good candidate for cochlear implant surgery. During our evaluation, we also make sure your diagnosis meets criteria outlined by the FDA.

Our evaluation process includes:

An audiologic cochlear implant evaluation, which lasts about 90 minutes and is performed to assess your hearing status. You also receive counseling and information about hearing loss and the potential benefits and limitations of cochlear implants to determine if they align with your needs and goals.
A balance assessment for those who have a history of balance issues and need to have their inner ear balance measured. This can also help us choose which ear to implant if both ears hear equally.
A surgical consultation to determine if you’re a good candidate for cochlear implant surgery.
A brain health assessment, which helps us make appropriate referrals to members of our brain health team, if necessary to address any cognitive concerns related to hearing loss.
A discussion about cochlear implant manufacturers so you can have your options outlined and feel comfortable making a choice.

Our cochlear implant coordinator will work with you every step of the way to plan, schedule and guide your evaluation. They’ll see that the process is seamless and effective. It’s also important to note that even if your evaluation determines you’re a good candidate for surgery, whether or not you proceed with it will still be your choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

We know hearing loss can feel scary, especially when hearing aids don’t help. Here are answers to frequently asked questions.

Cochlear implants are electronic devices surgically implanted in the inner ear (called the cochlea) to help restore hearing. Although cochlear implants don’t recreate normal hearing, they can help someone who struggles with hearing understand speech again.

While hearing aids work by amplifying sounds so damaged ears can detect them, cochlear implants are designed to bypass damaged inner ear structures and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. The auditory nerve then sends signals to the brain, which recognizes them as sounds.

Our team will evaluate you to determine whether you’re a good candidate for cochlear implants.

The FDA has approved cochlear implants for adults who meet at least one of the following criteria, including having:

Good low-frequency hearing and very poor high-frequency hearing, and benefit from hybrid stimulation (acoustic and electric in the same ear)
One normal-hearing ear and one ear with profound hearing loss
Hearing loss in both ears but with one worse than the other

To qualify under Medicare, you must experience moderate to profound hearing loss and poor speech understanding in both ears. Other insurance providers may have different candidacy criteria. No matter your provider, we can help guide you through the insurance coverage process.

For children, the FDA has approved cochlear implants for babies as young as 9 months old — and, in some cases, for those younger than 9 months old. As the inner ear is adult size at birth, the implanted cochlear device remains viable across the lifetime.

Cochlear implant surgery is a one- to two-hour procedure. A surgeon makes an incision behind the ear so they can place the implant in the cochlea.

You’ll go home the same day and can resume your normal activities within a few days. After a week or two, you’ll have a follow-up visit with your surgeon to make sure the incision is healing as it should. Three weeks after the surgery, we’ll turn on and activate your device.