MULTICHANNEL COCHLEAR IMPLANT IN A DEAF-BLIND PATIENT

In this work, a case study of the first deaf-blind patient implanted w ith the Combi-40 cochlear implant is analyzed. The patient is a 69-yea r-old man who has been blind since the age of 25 and deaf since the ag e of 51. Before surgery, his wife used Braille and finger-spelling on his hand to communicate with him. In this study, we intend to show how the rehabilitation program was applied to his particular characterist ics and to describe the problems we faced throughout the process. Sign ificant improvements in the dynamic ranges of perception and comprehen sion of segmental features of speech were observed within two weeks af ter the setting up. Within four weeks, the patient was able to maintai n a simple conversation through the cochlear implant alone, and he aba ndoned the use of tactile communication. Nowadays, he is able to speak over the phone. A battery of tests was performed 2, 4 and 6 months af ter the switch-on. The results obtained for this patient, whose scores are among the best in our experience, suggest that deaf-blind individ uals may benefit from a multichannel cochlear implant as an auditory s ubstitute.