What a Cochlear Implant Actually Sounds Like

If you're not hearing impaired, you may wonder what it's like to wear a cochlear implant—what does it actually sound like? Unlike what you may think, cochlear implants don't generate sound like a hearing aid would. Instead, they actually zap your cochlea! Join Olivia Gordon for a fascinating new episode of SciShow!

----------
----------
Dooblydoo thanks go to the following Patreon supporters: KSam Lutfi, Kevin Knupp, Nicholas Smith, Inerri, D.A. Noe, alexander wadsworth,
سلطان الخليفي, Piya Shedden, KatieMarie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, Bella Nash, Charles Southerland, Bader AlGhamdi, James Harshaw, Patrick Merrithew, Patrick D. Ashmore, Candy, Tim Curwick, charles george, Saul, Mark Terrio-Cameron, Viraansh Bhanushali, Kevin Bealer, Philippe von Bergen, Chris Peters, Fatima Iqbal, Justin Lentz
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
----------
Sources:

[JaxonRon]

I’ve had my cochlear implant since December 2009 and I’m glad I got it. I was completely deaf for about 20 years (HOH my entire life). She was fairly accurate in this video in that things don’t sound right and I had to practice hearing to teach my brain to be able to distinguish sounds. At first a dog bark and a car horn sounded exactly the same to me because my brain had not yet learned to distinguish them. But some things you can only know by actually having a cochlear implant as she pointed out. So I’ll let you know a little more of what it’s like. Today everything sounds natural to me.

Today I can not only hear what voices are saying. I can also tell who’s voice I’m hearing if I know the person. Here’s how I explain it to people. If you put on sun glasses that have colored lenses such as yellow or red. Things will look strange at first. But after a while the world will look normal through those lenses. So much so that the world will look strange for a while when you take them off. That’s kind of what it’s like. If you could hear how things sound to me it’ll sounds strange to you. But to me it sounds natural because it’s the only way I can hear things. Just thought I’d add that for anyone who might be interested.

[amandanz]

The best gift, 85% deaf from birth, received a cochlear at age 46.. now a life time of hearing for the next (hopefully) 46 yrs .. truly grateful

[Nauxe]

I wish there was a sample audio. Even if its only an approximation.

[rubix]

I have a cochlear implant and this is exactly how it goes. When I made the switch from a typical in the ear hearing aid to a cochlear implant, I was immediately able to hear so many new sounds, like heavy rain on the roof of my house, and bacon sizzling on a pan. However, there was a period when I couldn't quite understand what people were saying. It took about a year of "training" where I had to focus on each individual sound. Now, 4 years after getting the implants, I have no trouble hearing what people are saying. Heck, I can even hear an entire conversation from across the room.

[beckwhitty]

I went from completely hearing for 35 years to totally deaf and got a cochlear implant. Things sound completely normal as I remember them. Not at all distorted.

[amysaxton]

I've had the cochlear implant for over 27+ years it has been a wonderful experience. I've been able to hear my son's growing up and my parent's voice and music OMG music is my life. I thank my parents for giving me this gift of life of being able to hear.

[wavey]

"What does a cochlear implant sound like?" **proceed to not provide an approximation of what it sounds like**

[fletchy]

The cochlear implant scenes in Sound of Metal was extremely insightful where you heard what he was hearing inside his head

[brodheadwatershedassociati]

I was born hearing and remained so for 12 years. The next 12 years, I was pretty close to deaf. Then came the cochlear implant. After a brief acclimation, the sound was... exactly like the first 12 years of my life. Tone, pitch are fine. While it's true that the results can differ depending on the patient, I can tell you that for a lucky recipient (like me) who gets the full effect and has something to compare it to, the "talking doll that's running low on batteries" comparison is so wrong. There is way more to this than can be taught in a 3.5-minute video.

[sesesolomon]

Whos here after watching “sound of metal” with riz ahmed

[wesx]

I have a cochlear implant, and the way they sound really depend on the person themselves too. Depending on how active your auditory nerve was before the implant plays a big factor. Since I went 20 years without mine being used, my CI only sounds like static. I can't make out voices, or any sounds at all really. I just can tell when sound is present.
My friend who lost her hearing says hers sounds like robotic sounds. Like the talking doll.
It really depends on who you are asking. It really does take a long time to learn to interpret sound with a CI.
It's a lot of association, if i know someone is knocking on the door and it sounds like static that is in parts, then I know it is the door and it takes my brain to learn to associate that. There is also auditory therapy that can help with learning to hear again.
The CI don't work for everyone either, some don't want them, and some it just doesn't end up working. And since you can't test them, you won't know until you have the surgery and have it activated.
CIs aren't some magic cure. They aren't like glasses in the slightest, or even hearing aids. They are expensive, take lots of time, involve a surgery, and take loads of work and practice. However, they can end up helping people quite a bit. I am still learning to hear with mine, as I can't make out hardly any specific sounds with mine, but I know with more training and wearing I will get more used to it and learn to hear better.
Thanks SciShow for bringing up this topic! I get asked this question lots and explain this a lot, but I love having it brought up.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask, I don't mind them at all. :D

[margaretswift]

I have had a cochlear implant since 2018 and after doing a fair amount of rehabilitation which included lots of listening to music I now hear voices and music as well as I did before my hearing loss. It took 22 months following activation before I could listen to a complete opera and hear the instruments and voices perfectly. It took only 44 days before my word recognition was 92% (before implant it was 8%). My only difficulty is in noisy situations like restaurants

[TACass]

I was one of the first few people that got into the “beta” for cochlear back in 2003 according to my audiologists. I love mine so much! I was born completely deaf.

[evelden]

„One of those talking dolls ruining low on battery” .... nightmares

[andrewfullerton]

My dad's deaf in one ear and mostly deaf in the other, so he got one of these implants. When I asked him this same question he said that he's grown so used to it that he's not even certain how the sound differs from organic hearing anymore. The main change I've noticed is that he went from not hearing you if you were a foot away to hearing every single noise in the house, even better than the rest of us.

[benjamingoldstein]

Cochlear implant sounds like “COHclear implant”, not “COCKlear implant”

[kellieheistand]

I have 2 cochlear implants after wearing hearing aids for most of my life. If you want to know what a cochlear implant sounds like, the answer is, it depends.

When they were first turned on, what I felt were vibrations that came from a spot just above my ear, NOT sound. After a while, it became more like sound, like electronic garbling. Then I was able to pick out a few sounds like for example, "s" and "sh" were some of first sounds I recognized. I gradually was able to recognize even more sounds.

Now, everything pretty much sounds the same as when I had hearing aids. Only sounds are clearer, and easier to understand.

Music is a bit different. Much of it sounds the same though I think it sounds a bit "flatter" then from what I remember. I usually can only tell a difference if it's a song that I've listened to a million times before the surgeries.

[DioneN]

Thanks for this! My sister has an implant and I've always wondered what the world sounds like to her.

[Nhojneirbo]

“It’s like a talking doll that’s running low on batteries. . . . .

or a drunk Chucky.

[wytsewolf]

I still don't know what it sounds like.