ENT at Helios Hospital Erfurt certified as cochlear implant-supplying facility
Treatment quality for severe hearing loss and deafness - ENT at Helios Klinikum Erfurt certified as cochlear implant-supplying facility
The Department of Otolaryngology at Helios Hospital Erfurt has been certified for the first time as a "cochlear implant-supplying facility for adults and children" in accordance with the requirements of the German Society for Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. The requirements are based on the white paper on cochlear implant (CI) fitting. The certification is proof of the high level of expertise in Erfurt: last year alone, more than 70 patients were fitted with a CI at Helios Hospital Erfurt.
"I am very pleased that our high quality of treatment has been attested by means of initial certification as a cochlear implant-supplying facility and would like to express my sincere thanks to the entire ENT team and the Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation Center Thuringia."
Prof. Dr. med. Holger Kaftan | Head Physician of Otorhinolaryngology
The care of patients with profound hearing loss or deafness is a complex process: "CI therapy is constantly evolving and requires us as a treating team to continuously update our knowledge. As a CI care facility, we are responsible for the entire care process of our patients - from preoperative diagnostics to lifelong aftercare. To this end, we have an interdisciplinary team with audiological, educational, technical and medical expertise at our disposal," says Prof. Dr. med. Holger Kaftan, Chief Physician of Otolaryngology at Helios Klinikum Erfurt. "I am very pleased that our high quality of treatment has been attested by means of initial certification as a cochlear implant-supplying facility and would like to express my sincere thanks to the entire ENT team and the Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation Center Thuringia."
The Cochlear Implant
A cochlear implant is an electronic hearing prosthesis. The CI system, consisting of a speech processor and the actual implant, receives sound waves via a microphone and then stimulates the auditory nerve via an electrode array. The auditory nerve transmits the signals to the brain, just as in a healthy person. The brain decodes the signals, making hearing possible. A number of individual factors determine for whom the system is suitable. Today, fitting a CI represents the "gold standard" of hearing rehabilitation for profoundly hearing impaired or deaf children and adults.
