When Austin Williams was just 13, a sudden undiagnosed illness left him profoundly deaf. The bright young teen tried to push through by reading lips and depending on classmates to share their notes. He was also fitted with hearing aids. But Austin, now 18, says, “They just made the muffled sounds louder.”
Fortunately for Austin, his mom, Linda, was persistent in her research for the best option and found it at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and in neurotologist (ear surgeon) H. Jeffrey Kim, MD.
It was determined that Austin’s bilateral hearing loss was due to an autoimmune disease, explains Dr. Kim. “After an evaluation, it was evident that he was a great candidate for a cochlear implant.”
The hearing brain
A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted device that bypasses damaged cochlear hair cells in the inner ear and the normal hearing process, using electrical signals that stimulate the auditory nerve. With training, the brain learns to interpret those signals as sound and speech.
The MedStar Georgetown Cochlear Implant Program offers some of the most advanced options in auditory rehabilitation, including cochlear, hybrid, and bone conduction hearing implants. Every year, the program’s team treats a wide range of patients— from children to 90-year-olds—who suffer hearing loss over time.
“More than 100,000 people in the U.S. have cochlear implants,” says Dr. Kim. “The range of patients who are candidates has expanded with new technology. Today, patients with moderate to profound hearing loss can benefit from implants. It is particularly helpful for patients with severe high-frequency loss who lose clarity.” Cochlear implant audiologists perform an extensive hearing evaluation to determine who can benefit from implantation.
A new beginning
For Austin, the device would prove an excellent solution for a devastating loss. “He was young and very motivated,” Dr. Kim explains. “And often people with sudden hearing loss do very well.”
In a two-hour outpatient procedure, Dr. Kim made a small incision behind Austin’s right ear and implanted the internal component of the device—a receiver-stimulator. A month later, Austin returned to his audiologist and received the external hardware—a microphone, speech processor, and transmitting coil. Worn like hearing aids, cochlear implants pick up sound and translate it into digital signals that move through the coil to the receiver, which sends sound to the auditory nerve.
“It was striking when Austin came to see me for his follow-up appointment. When I first met him, he was shy and quiet. But after the procedure, he was talkative and outgoing,” says Dr. Kim.
One year later, Austin had the same procedure on his left ear. “Most patients with severe loss do better with implants in both ears,” Dr. Kim notes. “This helps localize sounds and improves hearing in the presence of background noises.”
Austin used an online training program to help him after his procedures, but other people go through training with speech language therapists specializing in hearing impairment.
“I really experienced a 100 percent improvement,” says Austin. Today, the Florida A&M University freshman is looking to the future. “I just go back to MedStar Georgetown once a year for testing and reprogramming of the device,” he explains. “Now, I’m concentrating on college and majoring in industrial engineering— and maybe one day I will work with cochlear implants.”
To schedule an appointment at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, please call 202-944-5300.