NEW YORK, July 10 NY-Medialink-Med-El
NEW YORK, July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Approximately 32.5 million American
adults report some degree of hearing loss and three out of every 1000 children
are born deaf or hard of hearing each year, according to the National
Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. For some, cochlear
implants may be the only way to learn and interpret speech and other sounds.
(See video from at: http://media.medialink.com/WebNR.aspx?story=35326)
A cochlear implant provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly
deaf or severely hard-of-hearing. Unlike a traditional hearing aid, the
implant does not amplify sound but directly stimulates functioning auditory
nerves with electric impulses. Now a new implant system, Maestro, is taking
hearing technology to the next level.
The system consists of the thinnest and lightest internal implant and an
externally worn speech processor, allowing people to hear in "High Definition"
for the first time. Advanced technology offers users greater sound detail and
clarity, especially for music enjoyment and difficult listening environments
like busy restaurants. The implant is also future ready and designed to
implement upgrades and enhancements without needing a new device.
A questionnaire of patients who participated in the Fine Structure
Processing clinical trial showed:
-- 91% of the subjects reported that, in general, music sounds pleasant
with their cochlear implant
-- 82% report listening to music every week, if not every day
Registered journalists can access video, audio, text, graphics and photos
for free and unrestricted use at http://www.mediaseed.tv.
07DC08-0029
SOURCE Medialink and Med-El
