Surgery & Follow-Up Process

Once the decision is made to have implant surgery:

• Pre-authorization from the insurance company for the surgery is needed. Most commercial insurance companies, as well Medicare and T19, cover cochlear implants. This may take up to six weeks to authorize.

• Once we have received a hard copy of the insurance approval, a surgery date is scheduled.

• Surgery is usually an out-patient procedure which may involve an overnight hospital stay.

• The typical cochlear implant surgery takes about two to five hours. This includes testing the device itself to confirm each patient has a functioning unit. Electrophysiologic testing is done to evaluate each person's responsiveness to stimulation via the cochlear implant. This information can be useful in the device fitting process and in monitoring post-implant device function.

Post-operative appointments:

• "Initial Activation" is about four weeks after the surgery (3 hours)
  • Patient will receive the external equipment and will have the initial programming of the speech processor
  • Overview of the implant function and accessories
  • Registration, warranty, loss and damage insurance information
  • Suggestions for initial rehabilitation activities to work on at home
•  Two-Week Check (2 hours)
  • Audiogram
  • Adjustment and fine tuning of the programs on the speech processor
  • Answer questions regarding equipment and use 

• One-Month Evaluation (2 hours)
  • Audiogram
  • Speech perception testing in the audio booth to determine post-implant progress and to provide information for device programming decisions
  • Adjustment and continued revision to the programs on the speech processor
• Begin aural rehabilitation with speech pathologist (1 hour per week for 4 months = 16 sessions)
• Three-Month Check (2 hours)
  • Audiogram
  • Speech perception testing in the audio booth
  • Adjustment and fine tuning of the programs on the processor
•  Six-Month Check (2 hours)
  • Audiogram
  • Speech perception testing in the audio booth
  • Adjustment and continued revision to the programs on the processor

• Nine-Month Check (if needed) (2 hours)
  • Audiogram
  • Adjustment and fine tuning of the programs on the processor
•  One-Year Evaluation Along with Continued Annual Evaluations (2-3 hours)
  • Audiogram
  • Speech perception testing in the audio booth
  • Adjustment and continued revision to the programs on the speech processor