Cochlear
Implant Referrals
in Victoria BC
Our clinic provides comprehensive assessments for cochlear implant referrals for individuals with significant hearing loss who may not achieve optimal benefit from conventional hearing aids.
Cochlear Implants for Adults in BC
Located at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver
The BC Adult Cochlear Implant program is located at St. Paul’s Hospital. They are a provincially funded program that provides cochlear implant services to adults who meet candidacy criteria for cochlear implants across British Columbia.
They offer a full range of cochlear implant services for adults with complex hearing needs, including:
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Assessment
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Surgery
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Rehabilitation ​
​Referrals
Referrals can be made directly to the BC Adult Cochlear Implant Program by registered audiologists, registered hearing instrument practitioners, otolaryngologists (ENT doctors), family doctors, nurse practitioners.
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We are happy to discuss if a referral for a cochlear implant is right for you, and to facilitate your referral to the cochlear implant program.
For more information about the BC Cochlear Implant Program, please visit their website.
Cochlear Implants for Children in BC
Located at BC Childrens Hospital in Vancouver
The BC Children’s Cochlear Implant Program is the only pediatric cochlear implant team in the provinces of BC and Yukon. The clinic is located at BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) in Vancouver.
Their multidisciplinary team follows children who have received cochlear implant(s) until the age of 18, when their care is transferred over to the Adult Cochlear Implant Program at St. Paul’s Hospital for ongoing follow up.
Referrals
Referrals can be made by a registered audiologist or physician for children birth to 17 years of age.
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If a child with a cochlear implant needs to transfer to BC Children's Cochlear Implant Program, a transfer form can be completed by a parent, an audiologist, a physician or a teacher.
For more information about the BC Children’s Cochlear Implant Program, please visit their website.
What Are Cochlear Implants
Devices designed to help you hear better
Cochlear implants are surgically implanted electronic hearing devices that provide a sense of sound to people with severe to profound hearing loss.
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Unlike regular hearing aids, which amplify sound and rely on the wearer having residual hearing, cochlear implants bypass damaged parts of the inner ear (the cochlea) and directly stimulate the auditory nerve using electrical signals. The brain then interprets the electrical signals as sound.
Middle age woman with a bone anchored conduction hearing aid
Child playing cards with a bone anchored conduction hearing aid in his head
Girl laughing in a group with a hearing aid device
Middle age woman with a bone anchored conduction hearing aid
Components of a Cochlear Implant
External Sound Processor
The sound processor is worn externally behind the ear on the side of the head. It captures sound and processes sound. All styles of cochlear implants have an external sound processor.
External speech processor and transmitter device
Man sharing a video phone call wearing a ear sound processor implant
Close-up of head from behind with a cochlear implant
External speech processor and transmitter device
Internal Tramsitter
Receives information from the external processor and sends it to the electrode array.
Surgeon holding a hearing transmitter implant device
External speech processor, transmitter and internal implant demonstration system
Ear anatomy with external speech processor, transmitter and internal implant demonstration system
Surgeon holding a hearing transmitter implant device
Electrode Array
Receives information from the internal transmitter and electrically stimulates the auditory nerve.
Implant with electrode array
Slim Straight Electrode
Implant with electrode array