cochlear implant

American  

noun

1. 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.

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cochlear implant British  

/ ˈkɒklɪə /

noun

1. 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

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cochlear implant Scientific  

/ kŏk′lē-ər /

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cochlear implant

Lewis explained that he uses a cochlear implant to help him hear and understand speech, but he is unable to distinguish pitch because of the way the device operates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Most Americans with private insurers are on high-deductable plans, while the growing view among patients and insurers is that cochlear implant procedures are semielective, he adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

"It's remarkable that these effects were strongest for cochlear implant users, perhaps because shape-based nouns guided their word learning after implants gave them access to hearing."

From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2024

Unless you have severe-to-profound hearing loss that makes you a candidate for a cochlear implant, these doctors seemed to have better things to do.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2024

He knew from Leo’s YouTube videos that the artist was fitted with a cochlear implant, which allowed him to hear, but not quite at the level of a hearing person.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon