A cochlear implant gives access to sound, but a child has to learn to listen with it. We do the hearing evaluation before surgery, then auditory verbal therapy, mapping notes and parent coaching after it, at both Electronic City centres.
Severe to profound loss in both ears, with little benefit from well-fitted hearing aids, even after a proper trial.
An ENT surgeon and implant team operate at a hospital, and choose the device. We test before and do therapy after.
A hearing aid makes sound louder. That works when the inner ear can still pass sound on. In severe to profound hearing loss, many of the inner ear's hair cells no longer work, and making sound louder does not make speech clearer.
A cochlear implant goes around the damaged part. A surgeon places a thin electrode inside the cochlea, the snail-shaped hearing organ. An outer processor sits behind the ear, picks up sound and sends it to the electrode, which stimulates the hearing nerve directly. The brain then has to learn what those new signals mean. That learning is what rehabilitation is for.
The decision is made by the implant team at the hospital, after hearing tests, scans and a medical check. Our part is to give that team a clear, careful picture of how your child hears, with and without hearing aids. If your child is still at the testing stage, see child hearing tests for OAE, BERA and play audiometry.
The hardest part is not knowing what comes next. This is the usual order.
After switch-on, the implant team sets, or "maps", the processor: how much current each electrode gets, so sound is comfortable and clear. A child cannot always say what they hear, so the first year usually needs several mappings, then fewer as things settle.
Mapping is done by the implant team's audiologist. Our role is to coordinate with them. Because we see your child every week, we notice things a mapping visit cannot: a sound your child never turns to, a new dislike of loud places, a drop in speech after a cold. We note these and share them with the team, so each mapping starts from what is happening at home.
Six ways we support your family around the surgery.
Listening and talking through hearing, not lip reading or signs. Four stages from switch-on.
One hour a week is not enough on its own. Daily listening at home is what changes a child's speech.
What changes a child's speech is the listening they do every day at home: naming things at meals, singing during bath time, talking through a walk to the shop. In each session we show you one or two things to practise, you try them with your child while we watch, and we review how the week went next time. Grandparents and carers are welcome too.
Often one session a week for one to three years, with daily practice. A typical pattern, not a promise.
An implant and the therapy after it is a large cost. For many families, a government scheme covers much of it.
Costs: one published estimate for South India, not Poorvam's prices (a surgeon's blog on medyblog.com). Treat as rough; hospitals and devices vary widely. ADIP limits are maximums, from the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.
Children with hearing loss from birth (ages 1 to 5) or acquired later (5 to 18) can qualify. Who qualifies and how to apply.
For our own therapy fees, call +91 88848 64343 or send a WhatsApp.
Hearing aids first, speech support if needed, and one clinician leading it.
Sessions run at both centres, Phase 1 on Hulimangla Road and Phase 2 in Ananth Nagar, which suits families from Begur, Hebbagodi, Bommasandra and Chandapura.
Same team, same equipment, same hours at both. Pick whichever is closer.
Hulimangla Road, near Sai Mandir Temple, above RxDx Multi Speciality, Hulimangala, Bengaluru 560105
Mon–Sat, 9:30 am – 6:30 pm. Sunday closed.
Lift available. Home visits available.
Closest for Hulimangla, Neeladri Nagar, Doddathoguru, Konappana Agrahara.
Ananth Nagar, above Bata showroom, opp. Udupi Aaradhya restaurant, Bengaluru 560100
Mon–Sat, 9:30 am – 6:30 pm. Sunday closed.
Upstairs, reached by stairs. There is no lift. Home visits available.
Closest for Ananth Nagar, Hebbagodi, Bommasandra, Chandapura.
It varies from child to child. Many children have about one session a week for one to three years, with daily practice at home in between. Children implanted young, with no other needs and with a lot of listening practice at home, often need less time. We review progress every few months and tell you honestly where your child stands.
Under the central ADIP scheme, children from families earning up to ₹30,000 a month can get a cochlear implant covered, up to ₹7 lakh for children aged 1 to 5 with hearing loss from birth, and up to ₹6 lakh for ages 5 to 18. See our guide to government schemes for who qualifies and how to apply.
No. Cochlear implant surgery is done by an ENT surgeon at a hospital. We do the hearing evaluation before surgery, and the listening therapy, family coaching and follow-up after it, working with your implant team.
Mapping is setting the implant's processor so each electrode gives sound at a comfortable, useful level. It is done by the implant team's audiologist, often several times in the first year as the child gets used to sound. Between mappings, we track how your child is responding and share notes with the team, so each mapping starts from real observations.
Auditory verbal therapy (AVT) teaches a child with a cochlear implant or hearing aids to listen and talk through hearing, not lip reading. Parents attend every session and learn to turn daily routines like bath time and meals into listening practice. The therapist coaches; the family does most of the work at home.
Yes. Adults who lost hearing after learning to speak, and who get little help from well-fitted hearing aids, often do well. They need listening practice too, as the implant sounds strange at first. The implant team decides candidacy after tests.
Whether you are still deciding or already switched on, a first session maps out what the next year looks like.
