Auditory and Visual Neural Prostheses

Abstract

This chapter briefly reviews sensory prostheses designed for use in patients with severe auditory or visual disorders. Projecting from the cochlea, the auditory nerve makes connection with the central auditory pathway, a complex structure containing over a dozen auditory processing centres. Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common form of deafness and is due to a loss of hair cells. The chapter discusses the prostheses for the hearing loss which are cochlear implants, central auditory prosthesis, combined electric and acoustic stimulation and bilateral cochlear implants. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are two degenerative diseases of the retina that..