April 23, 2024
Collaborating with other specialists — both internally and externally — is a critical aspect of the Otolaryngology Department's approach to patient care. To this end, Mayo Clinic neurotologists work with Caroline Zuck, Au.D., an audiologist at Savannah Speech and Hearing Center in Georgia, to improve patients' hearing and daily communication experiences.
The Savannah Speech and Hearing Center opened in 1954 and continues to play an important role as a regional, nonprofit provider of comprehensive hearing and language services. In addition to evaluations, the center offers a full range of hearing instruments, including hearing aids and assistive listening devices.
For some of their patients, however, the degree of hearing loss and clarity is such that traditional hearing supports are ineffective. In 2023, Dr. Zuck began collaborating with Mayo Clinic's neurotology team on cochlear implant solutions for these patients.
"Savannah Speech and Hearing Center doesn't have any neurotologists who are implanting cochlear implants," Dr. Zuck says. "Surgery, programming and relearning how to hear with an implant is a lot for a patient to go through, so it is important to work together with a neurotology team to get the best outcomes."
When Dr. Zuck comes across a patient who may be a good candidate for a cochlear implant, she often refers them to Mallory J. Raymond, M.D., and Joseph T. Breen, M.D., for an evaluation, both neurotologists at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.
The evaluation may include imaging tests to ensure a patient's ear anatomy is compatible with cochlear implantation and to determine if there are any issues that would preclude surgery.
"Surgery, programming and relearning how to hear with an implant is a lot for a patient to go through, so it is important to work together with a neurotology team to get the best outcomes."
Recent improvements in cochlear implant technology mean that a broad group of adults and children with hearing impairment can now benefit from the use of cochlear implants. Mayo Clinic offers the latest technology available for cochlear implants, including electroacoustic stimulation and hybrid cochlear implants.
Providing access to cochlear implant evaluations is increasingly important, as improved technology and expanded criteria have vastly increased the number of people who may be eligible candidates. In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved cochlear implantation for individuals with single-sided deafness or asymmetrical hearing impairment.
"Before, if you had one normal ear then you couldn't be considered for a cochlear implant," Dr. Zuck explains, noting the professional and personal challenges often faced by individuals with hearing loss. "The previous criteria created barriers for people who really would have benefited from this procedure."
For her patients who undergo cochlear implant procedures at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Zuck says they often comment on what a positive experience they had when she sees them again for implant programming and hearing rehabilitation visits. As a referrer, Dr. Zuck appreciates that the Mayo Clinic care team is familiar and dependable.
"Working with the patient coordinators and the nurses and being able to reach out to the surgeons knowing they're there to support my patients means everything," Dr. Zuck says. "If I text or call them, there's an instant reply, and I know that they care as much as I do."
While it can take between six and 12 months for a patient to obtain the maximum benefit from a cochlear implant, Dr. Zuck says she can often observe improvements in her patients much sooner — and she stresses the importance of reaching out if patients are struggling with their hearing aids.
"You don't have to be completely deaf or only have profound hearing loss to get the help you need," Dr. Zuck says. "Treatment for hearing loss is genuinely life changing."
For more information
Refer a patient to Mayo Clinic.