TWENTY four patients had cochlear implants at Port Macquarie Base Hospital in the first year of the service here.
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The surgery and follow-up care are available in Port Macquarie.
Patients previously had to travel at least to Newcastle, if not Sydney, to access the service.
Ear and cochlear implant surgeon Dr Jonathan Kong said cochlear implants allowed people to connect with their community and families.
“Cochlear implantation is an option when some people have given up hope on having hearing,” he said.
“It can provide a solution when non-surgical solutions, such as a hearing aid, are unable to.”
Dr Kong said people should ask about cochlear implants if they are unsure.
“Not all will be candidates but they should at least be asking the question,” he said.
Dr Kong said he was proud to be part of a team that provided a local cochlear implant service.
A cochlear implant is an electronic medical device.
Unlike hearing aids, cochlear implants don’t just make sounds louder.
They stimulate the hearing nerves directly providing access to higher quality, more detailed sound at close to normal levels.
For some types of hearing loss, cochlear implants have shown significant improvements in speech recognition and can play an important role in gaining your life back.
Dr Kong said the surgery was relatively routine, but still major surgery, and it was tolerated very well even by the elderly.
Patients usually experience an overnight stay in hospital and a follow-up visit one week later with a GP to have a wound check.
The device is switched on at the Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre Port Macquarie about two weeks later.
Multiple visits will be required to program the device processor as each individual will require different support.
Port Macquarie Base Hospital cochlear implant service caters for young adults to the elderly.
Patients come from the Mid-North Coast to the Queensland border.
Children and adolescents are still catered for in Sydney.
Meerschaum Vale resident Pam Moreland’s successful surgery was one of the first cochlear implant surgeries to take place at Port Macquarie Base Hospital.
She contacted the Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre’s Cochlear Implant Program to find out how a cochlear implant could change her life for the better.
SCIC Cochlear Implant Program, an RIDBC service, provides a seamless suite of services from early intervention and education through to specialist assessment, surgical liaison and support, and rehabilitation services.
Hearing Awareness Week runs through to August 26.