Adults and children who are as young as six to 12 months old can benefit from cochlear implants. People who have cochlear implants report improved: Ability to hear speech without needing visual cues such as reading lips. Recognition of normal, everyday environmental sounds.

Do cochlear implants work for everyone?

A cochlear implant is not right for everyone. ... Both children and adults can be candidates for cochlear implants. People who are candidates for this device may have been born deaf or become deaf after learning to speak. Children as young as 1 year old are now candidates for this surgery.

Is a cochlear implant right for me?

Cochlear implantation can be used if you suffer from hearing loss in one ear (single-sided) or both ears (bilateral). If you are deaf in both ears, having two implants improves the ability to locate sound and makes it easier to understand speech in noisy environments. I am completely satisfied with my cochlear implant.