Why not Cochlear Transplants?!

momofasweetone said:
I realize everyone has there different views on this, but your harshness against transplants is very rude ! I have a 6 mos. old who cannot get an implant, but can get a transplant. so, those against it are saying my child is better off deaf ??!!

Your ignorance proceeds you. if you don't have anything intelligent to say, don't post it.
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Many people are happy being deaf. I have been profoundly deaf since birth and I have no desire getting a CI cuz my life doesnt center around it. If u tell a child she is better off hearing, that will give him/her the message that by being deaf, she/he isnt as capable. That can destroy one's self-esteem.
 
shel90 said:
Not only that but also run the risk of rejection of the implanted cochlea? For me, that is not an option.

I thought the purpose of transplants were to save lives? People can live without a cochlea but cant live without a good heart. :dunno:
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Exactly, Shel.

There are ways to mitigate a hearing loss without resorting to transplantation. The medical community would not bother to transplant cochleas for this reason. They only reason one would resort to transplantation is to save a life.
 
Phi4Sius said:
And yes, I'm well aware of those who are not knowledgeable about Cochlear Implants referring to them as transplants after performing a Google search on the terms involved. That's not what I'm referring to here.

So I got to thinking. They're able to implant and transplant nearly everything. They can even correct cross eyed individuals with surgery on the optical nerve.

So why AREN'T there Cochlear Transplants (which include a new cochlea + organ of corti), or Organ of Corti Transplants? Wouldn't transplants theoretically restore normal hearing to those with severely profound sensorineural loss? Why is everyone always talking about techniques that are always 10-15 years off (hair cell regeneration) when a transplant may do the job here and now?!
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Is that the same thing as Stem Cell for transplant for a hair cell generalization in the Cochlear? I still don't think that would work well at all for any deaf people, let alone with profoundly deaf. It is a risk to have it being transplant so that the hearing people whether hearing parents or hearing doctors want them to hear perfectly. The hearing people should just accept us as being deaf and no one can not "fix" us to be hearing like hearing people. Anyway, like other Deaf Aders, transplant is for saving lives, not hearing transplant which is not life threaten at all. Just have to accept us for who we are as deaf people. That is the way we want to have a simple life with ASL and Deaf Culture. :roll:
 
@bebonang- No. I was talking about physically taking a cochlea + organ of corti that had ALL of its hairs intact being taken out of a recently deceased person and being transplanted into someone that had severe-profound hearing loss.

Of course that was just a ridiculous thought that obviously didn't work out very well.
 
Bottesini said:
Why would you want to transplant and take immunosupressents which shorten your lifespan?

A cochlear implant would be preferable over a transplant to me.
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ASL would be preferable over CI and a transplant to me. :)
 
A wide range of complicating factors would limit the ability of surgeons to perform a cochlear transplant, some of which include:

1. The cochlear is also connect to the vestibular labyrinth, or balance organs. Damage to these could result in considerably worse symptoms relating to balance, including periods of vertigo (the kind where you'll be stuck in bed feeling naseous all day).

2. The cochlear contains the most metabolically active tissue in the body - the stria vascularis which is required for normal cochlear function. Loss of blood flow to this tissue for more than a few minutes results in irreversible damage, making transplantation difficult.

3. The inner ear and it's nerve are encased in bone --> difficult to access and difficult to replace + difficult to reconnect the wiring.

In summary --> at this stage, unfortunately, cochlear transplantation is a pipe-dream.
 
Okay folks...this thread is old. Please move along.

Mods - is it possible to lock this thread please? :)
 
Momofsweetone.......I would totally look into the Auditory Brainstem implant, and look into ASL too. Although I'm kind of confused about why she can't use hearing aids if her loss is only severe. If she had the type of loss that nesscestates an ABI she would have a total and complete profound loss.
Are you sure you're not confused? Maybe a good idea might be to get a referral to a university/ENT specialist who is experianced with odd/rare cases....maybe you're getting the advice you're getting b/c you're seeing a garden variety ent.
 
Why lock it? Someone might have something to add or another point of view tomorrow, next week or next year.
 
RonJaxon said:
Why lock it? Someone might have something to add or another point of view tomorrow, next week or next year.
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Well, I feel they can start a new thread. Some thread are old news that don't even apply to us anymore (think about reviving a thread about which "pager" to buy when it hardly exist anymore). Second, some people are replying to the posters who no longer around so the questions get left unanswered. Third, It's confusing as we think it is a new post. One time, someone revived a post that had one of old member, and I thought he came back and was happy about that... then later, I was disappointed it was just an old post.
 
shel90 said:
Not only that but also run the risk of rejection of the implanted cochlea? For me, that is not an option.

I thought the purpose of transplants were to save lives? People can live without a cochlea but cant live without a good heart. :dunno:
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:gpost:
 
I still think it should be closed and buried as it was one of my more insane ideas.

Oh, well. :roll:
 
Phi4Sius said:
I still think it should be closed and buried as it was one of my more insane ideas.
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Nah, its a legitimate question to those who don't know better. I asked the same question to an ENT resident I work with. Besides all the other issues, as DeafDoc mentioned theres no way.to attach nerves to other nerves, or the hair cells. When you look at a picture of the auditory nerve, you'll realize why they cll it "spiral ganglion" :aw:

Otherwise you would see alot of people getting new arms and legs who've lost those in accidents.
 
umm Im partially deaf but for some reason I can't get a CI because of the amount of hearing loss ive had. Wish I could get CT....
 
first off...there is no such thing as Cochlear Transplants! 2nd most ppls first post is in the INTRO section
 
Fast forward 2 years- though I have Cochlear Implant-there was NO discussion about a Cochlea implant from a recent dead person. As for hair regeneration- according Dr Linn Sunnybrook a few months ago -nothing for humans has been considered.
A Cochlear Implant is at the present time a much cheaper and better option. 20 years from now?

Implanted Advanced Bionics- Harmony activated Aug/07
 
drphil - That post has NOTHING to do with this thread. Why bother bringing it back up if you have nothing to contribute to it? Are you being a troll?

BTW: Post reported.
 
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