Safety and efficacy of the House/3M cochlear implant in profoundly deaf adults.

The House/3M cochlear implant system is no longer considered investigational. Many years of clinical experience led to development of a clinically feasible program for selecting patients, fitting the device, training patients in its use, and evaluating results. Both laboratory and clinical data support the conclusion that this device is safe and provides significant benefits for profoundly deaf adults. The House/3M cochlear implant has had a significant impact in the treatment of the profoundly deaf, even while in the investigational stage. First and foremost, patients who were previously turned away as "untreatable" were provided with a new option. Furthermore, the professionals--otologists and audiologists--had a new set of tools, including assessment and rehabilitation materials, to use in dealing with the profoundly deaf patient. These patients can now be provided more effective care whether they obtain an implant or a hearing aid. Finally, the introduction of this device stimulated the development of better devices, better assessment tools, and other alternatives. The future calls for device improvements, objective methods for selection of candidates, and expansion of the application of electrical stimulation of hearing to children, to patients with more residual hearing, and to those who require a central electroauditory prosthesis for stimulation in the brain stem. Cochlear implants are rapidly becoming a part of clinical otology and audiology. It is important that accurate information be disseminated among these professionals, that professional training programs teach their students about this area, and that other professionals, such as educators of the deaf, speech/language pathologists, and psychologists who deal with the hearing impaired, become knowledgeable in dealing effectively with the implanted child or adult.