Cochlear implantation in South Africa (part 2)

Abstract

Cochlear implantation is a timeous and cost-effective solution for severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and has transformed the lives of many individuals with significant hearing loss. The advent of cochlear implantation has meant that, for the first time, one of the senses (hearing), having been entirely lost, can be restored. The previous article in this series sketched the problem of severe-toprofound SNHL, and how cochlear implantation can overcome this, how a cochlear implant (CI) works, the history of cochlear implantation and the principles of the multidisciplinary CI team. The current status of cochlear implantation in South Africa (SA) is the subject of discussion in this article, the second of this two-part series on cochlear implantation. It comprises a study of the best available current data on the status of CI in SA.

Audiologists’ Perceptions of Hearing Healthcare Resources and Services in South Africa’s Public Healthcare System

“…Since CIs are considered to be a privileged intervention in South Africa, there is minimal public funding available for this intervention, and hence a severely restricted number of individuals who adhere to CI criteria are implanted within South Africa’s public healthcare sector. 52 , 53 Therefore, the majority of the individuals requiring CIs have to either have sufficient finances or access to private medical aid to afford this intervention and the costly lifelong maintenance demands thereafter. 23 This, therefore, explains why only 5.0% of audiologists perceived that cochlear implantation would be possible for patients requiring this intervention at their hospitals.…”