An implant has four basic parts: A microphone, which picks up sound from the environment; a speech processor, which selects and arranges sounds picked up by the microphone; a transmitter and receiver/stimulator, which receive signals from the speech processor and convert them into electric impulses; nd electrodes, which collect the impulses from the stimulator and send them to the brain.

NIDCD publishes statistics that give a clue to who suffers from hearing disorders.

- Hearing loss is greater in men.

- Almost 12 percent of men who are 65 to 74 years of age are affected by tinnitus. Tinnitus is identified more frequently in white individuals and the prevalence of tinnitus is almost twice as frequent in the South as in the Northeast.

- Approximately 28 million Americans have a hearing impairment.

- Hearing loss affects approximately 17 in 1,000 children under age 18. Incidence increases with age: Approximately 314 in 1,000 people over age 65 have hearing loss and 40 to 50 percent of people 75 and older have a hearing loss.

- About 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the U.S. are born deaf or hard-of-hearing. Nine out of every 10 children who are born deaf are born to parents who can hear.

- Ten million Americans have suffered irreversible noise induced hearing loss, and 30 million more are exposed to dangerous noise levels each day.

- Only 1 out of 5 people who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one.

- Approximately 59,000 people worldwide have received cochlear implants. About 250,000 people would be good candidates for a cochlear implant. In the U.S., about 13,000 adults and nearly 10,000 children have cochlear implants.

By Canton Journal
http://www2.townonline.com/canton/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=412836