Cost of Cochlear Implant in India A cochlea is a part of the human ear which is shaped liked a tube; it is hollow and usually coiled in the form of a shell of a snail. The cochlea contains the organ of Corti, which is known to be the sensory organ of hearing. When a person’s cochlea gets damaged and she/he is unable to hear almost nothing or absolutely nothing, then that person is given a device to make her/his cochlea work. This procedure is known as a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant is a small yet complex electronic device that helps a person to hear who is basically deaf or almost nearly deaf. The device has two portions – an internal and an external one. While the former is surgically placed under the skin, the latter sits behind the ear. A cochlear implant consists of numerous parts. There is a microphone to pick sound for the external environment. This sound picked by the microphone is selected and arranged accordingly by a speech processor. A transmitter and receiver are there that received sound signals from the processor and convert them into electric impulses. Finally, there is an electrode array involving a group of electrodes whose function is to collect impulses from the stimulator and sending them to different parts of the auditory nerve. A cochlear implant helps to bypass damaged portions of an ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Signals generated by the machine are sent to the brain through the auditory nerve, and the brain in turn recognizes those signals as sounds. Cost of Cochlear Implant in India The cost of cochlear implant in India is one of the major reasons why patients decide to travel thousands of miles for their treatment. The country boasts its high quality of medical treatment that can be available at an extremely affordable cost. Cochlear implant cost depends on several factors. Some of the factors that dictate the cost of cochlear implant include the following: • • • •
Type and quality of device used The type of hospital room preferred Experience of the surgeon Cost of medicines and other consumables