cochlear implant

noun

a device consisting of microelectrodes that deliver electrical stimuli directly to the auditory nerve when surgically implanted into the cochlea, enabling a person with sensorineural deafness to hear.

Also called artificial ear.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for artificial ear

cochlear implant

noun

a device that stimulates the acoustic nerve in the inner ear in order to produce some form of hearing in people who are deaf from inner ear disease

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

artificial ear in Science

cochlear implant

[kŏk′lē-ər]

A surgically implanted electronic device that allows people with severe hearing loss to recognize some sounds. It consists chiefly of a microphone and receiver, a processor that converts speech into electronic signals, and an array of electrodes that transmit the signals to the auditory nerve in the inner ear.