Can Cochlear Implant surgery cause schizophrenia?

drphil said:
Since the above discussion took place 4 years- not much has happened to confirm the original hypothesis.
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The time frame between the original discussion and the new member's post have no impact on the question of whether or not surgery on the brain or modifications to it can develop mental illness though.

drphil said:
Since I have had my Cochlear Implant only 6 years- no one has mentioned the alleged risk of "getting schizophrenia". No sure which variant of schizophrenia was "developed"?
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If no one mentioned it, it doesn't mean it is not possible. I would not rule out that neurosurgery is 100% free of mental illnesses - even if it's rated at a 99.9% chance of success, there's still a small chance that anything could happen. My opinion is that unless you understand the complexity of the brain and which lobes are responsible for what (if, in any case something is to happen to it) then you have a better judgement of what can happen. To this date no scientist has completely understood brain development.

Here are one of the common symptoms of schizophrenia, and they fit the description the previous poster described. By no means does it mean that they have this form of schizophrenia.

Catatonic schizophrenia: Symptoms - MayoClinic.com

Peculiar movements. You may have inappropriate or unusual postures, grimace for long periods or use strange mannerisms. You may also mechanically repeat certain behaviors (stereotyped behaviors), such as repeating words, obsessively following a routine or always arranging objects exactly the same way.

Physical immobility. You may be completely unable to move or speak, or you may stare, hold your body in a rigid position and seem to be unaware of your surroundings (catatonic stupor). You may also have a form of immobility known as waxy flexibility; for example, if your arm is moved into a certain position, it will stay in that position for hours.

Excessive mobility. Rather than being unable to move, you may move in an excited manner that appears to have no purpose. You may pace in a frenzy, turn in circles, flail your arms or make loud noises.

Extreme resistance. You may not respond to instructions, may resist any attempt to be moved or may not speak at all.

Mimicking speech or movement. You may repeatedly say a word just spoken by someone else (echolalia) or repeatedly copy a gesture or movement made by someone else (echopraxia).


Having beliefs not based on reality (delusions)
Seeing or hearing things that don't exist (hallucinations), especially voices
Incoherent speech
Neglect of personal hygiene
Apparent lack of emotions
Emotions inappropriate to the situation
Angry outbursts
Trouble functioning at school or work
Social isolation
Clumsy, uncoordinated movements
 
From what I understand, schizophrenia can be brought on by many things, including psychological trauma.

When you say he "passed an EMF detector" by his head and immediately acted up....I have my doubts that it was the cause, as a detector does not put out any signals, it only receives.....as it is nothing more than a coil of wires that are sensitive to miniscule changes in radio frequencies.

Regardless, I hope he is getting the help he needs.
 
This is interesting, I have no idea, but it sounds dubious. Schizophrenia seems like a brain chemistry issue, not sure though. But could a CI even change chemistry? It seems a structural thing.

But the real kicker for me, for anyone claiming.....people with schizophrenia have delusions, so pretty much anything they say is highly questionable.
 
Tinnitus could drive one crazy but I don't think a CI can cause Schizophrenia.
 
Head Trauma May Boost Schizophrenia Risk | Traumatic Brain Injury Possibly Increases Schizophrenia Risk | LiveScience

Head trauma may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, a new study says. Brain injury and schizophrenia

Traumatic brain injury results from a jolt or blow to the head, or an injury that penetrates the skull, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Symptoms of TBI can be mild, such as a concussion, or more severe, such as amnesia, the CDC says.Overall, TBI was associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia, the researchers found. People who suffered TBI and also had a relative with schizophrenia were 2.8 times more likely to develop the psychiatric condition than those who hadn't had TBI, the study said.The risk of schizophrenia did not increase in more severe brain injuries, the study showed. That may mean other factors, such as the location of the trauma, matter more in terms of schizophrenia risk, the researcher said. The study did not take into account the location of the TBI.
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I mean we do have a schizophrenic member that claims he became deaf from trauma from people trying cover up Peter Gabriel releasing the aids virus......
 
green427 said:
From what I understand, schizophrenia can be brought on by many things, including psychological trauma.

When you say he "passed an EMF detector" by his head and immediately acted up....I have my doubts that it was the cause, as a detector does not put out any signals, it only receives.....as it is nothing more than a coil of wires that are sensitive to miniscule changes in radio frequencies.

Regardless, I hope he is getting the help he needs.
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In other thoughts, what if the "EMF" was some kind of electrocution that was able to penetrate deeper into the brain from the cochlear implant component, serving as a conductor?

I guess from my perspective, I'm not buying the notion that brain surgery is 110% "safe" that it can't impact other functions of your brain, outside of hearing.
 
naisho said:
In other thoughts, what if the "EMF" was some kind of electrocution that was able to penetrate deeper into the brain from the cochlear implant component, serving as a conductor?
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I brought that up with the medical pros, and they all said that even though anything is possible, it is highly unlikely. If I walked in between two coils that have a wide magnetic field, and the voltage is very high, such as 4000 volts in a power plant distribution center, and my body is touching ground, there is a possibility of the metal parts doing damage to soft tissue. Lightning strikes can cause damage.

All CI recipients are warned to stay away from high-powered MRI's, not only because of the magnetic field generated, but because they become high-powered magnets, and can cause the internal implant magnet to be sucked out of our heads. People with any kind of metal implants & pacemakers have to heed that warning too.

I guess from my perspective, I'm not buying the notion that brain surgery is 110% "safe" that it can't impact other functions of your brain, outside of hearing.
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There is no such thing as "100% safe" surgery, I agree. If anyone says anything is 100% safe, I would take anything else they say with a bucket of salt.

Anything can happen. I've seen it happen to a friend of my wife. Even though her CI was not powered, she still had problems with petit mal seizures and her eyes were not functioning correctly. She apparently had an existing medical condition and the CI internal parts aggravated it. (she got some hearing back afterwards....imagine that).
 
Then it's like saying something like static electricity will make us cuckoo instantly. The implant doesn't transmit near enough to conclude that. Someone came up with some junk diagnosis. :lol:
 
From the reading the orginal post-the source of the question was his "girlfriend"'s belief that the recent Cochlear Implant was the "cause" of her schizophrenia.

Interesting one can have "insight: into the causes of their schizophrenia. Somehow doesn't exactly seem "true"
 
CaliSunshine said:
I was wondering if any of you deafies out in the world has heard of people getting schizophrenic after CI surgery? In my part of California, I have asked around and have not heard of anything about it. When I minored in Deaf Ed at Fresno State, i asked the head professor of the dept if he heard anything about that and he said there is a chance but like 1 in a million chance.

The reason I ask is because I dated a deaf woman who lived about 2 hours from me and we got along for awhile and then suddenly things just started going wrong in our relationship. She admitted to me that she has schizophrenia and said she got it after she had CI surgery. We did break up but remained friends for years but was wondering if that was really possible....
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Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disease with heavy genetic influences and is caused by an imbalance of dopamine in specific parts of the brain.

Cochlear implants do not interfere with the mesocortical or mesolimbic tracts of the brain, which are altered in people with schitzophrenia. and therefore can NOT cause schizophrenia.
Cochlear implants do interface with the brain AT ALL and therefore do not alter the levels of dopamine in the substantial nigra of the brain.

About schizophrenia- people in their teens to early thirties are most likely to develop the condition.
Does that mean that every kid who graduates from high school will become schizophrenia? HELL NO.
 
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