NEW HYDE PARK, NY – Modesto Rivera, 51, of Mineola, Long Island, went to sleep about eight years ago and woke up unable to hear. After trying various medications and hearing aids, Mr. Rivera received a cochlear implant exactly one year ago at LIJ Medical Center, thanks to a fund created by the Hagedorn Foundation.

During a news conference to celebrate the 10th anniversary of LIJ's Apelian Cochlear Implant Center, Mr. Rivera spoke emotionally about how the loss of his hearing affected his relationships at home and at work. “Now,” he said, “the best sound for me is my daughter’s voice. Everything is beautiful again.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Paul Kim, of Bayside, Queens, who spoke on behalf of his three-year-old daughter Madelyn. Maddie was born at LIJ on Christmas Eve 2007. Thanks to the North Shore-LIJ Health System’s policy of screening all newborns for hearing proficiency, Maddie’s parents were told within days that their baby daughter was hearing impaired. Hearing aids only amplified sound, but offered no real solution. So, in August 2009, when Maddie was just 18 months old, she received a cochlear implant. Now attending a specialized school for the deaf, Maddie is an energetic child, as she demonstrated during the news conference, when she held up a hand-drawn sign that read “I can hear now…thank you, LIJ.”

Severe-to-profound hearing impairments affect over three million Americans. To date, the Apelian Cochlear Implant Center has performed more than 250 implant surgeries, according to Andrea Vambutas, MD, the center's medical director.

Cochlear implants are surgically placed within the inner ear, directly stimulating the ending of the auditory nerve. The basic design of an implant includes an external microphone, processor and transmitter, and an internal receiver-stimulator and electrode array. Each component has a distinct function: the microphone captures incoming sound and transmutes it to electrical signals; the processor reconfigures, amplifies and manipulates the electrical signal into a digital signal, which is then transmitted to the receiver/stimulator and electrode array and processed by the implant’s encoding strategy.

Following the operation, Dr. Vambutas said the patient returns to the center within four weeks after surgery to have the implant stimulated. Additional follow-up care includes periodic evaluations to assist in gauging efficacy and progress, and determining rehabilitation as well as sporadic visits to fine tune and make other adjustments to the implant.

To help cover the cost of cochlear implant surgery for hearing-impaired individuals like Mr. Rivera who cannot afford it, the Hagedorn Foundation partnered with LIJ Medical Center to establish a grants program. “Mr. Rivera’s outcome was made possible through the generosity of the Hagedorns," Dr. Vambutas said.

Speaking of the life- altering impact of cochlear impacts, Mr. Kim said, “The best part of all this is that I can tell my daughter that I love her---and she can hear me.”

To view a video of this story, go to: http://www.northshorelij.com/NSLIJ/media-portal/wellness/gift-of-sound

Media Contact: Michelle Pinto
(516) 465-2649
mpinto@nshs.edu