|
Contact: Box 163, Tel: 01223 217 589 (hospital extension 3589);
Also on this website:
Welcome to the webpages of the Emmeline Centre for
hearing implants. We are busy preparing new and detailed information
about implants and our services; in the meantime, here is some essential
information about the Centre and how to contact us.
What does the Centre do?
The Emmeline Centre provides services for deaf
people of all ages, who may benefit from implantable hearing
aids
including cochlear implants, bone-anchored hearing aids and auditory
brainstem implants. The Centre provides a full service to its
patients including detailed assessment, surgery and inpatient
care, fitting, rehabilitation and long-term support. Our patients
range in age from babies as young as 4 months to adults aged
over 70+ years.
'A child being assessed at the Centre for an implant'
How long have we been providing these services?
Our implant programme began in 1986. At that time, we were
working with adults only, and fitting only single-channel cochlear
implants.
We carried out our first multi-channel cochlear implant in 1989.
In 1990, the first child received a cochlear implant at Addenbrooke's.
By April 2006, we had provided cochlear implants (CIs), auditory
brainstem implants (ABIs) and bone-achored hearing aids. (BAHAs)
Numbers of people treated in the Emmeline
Centre: |
|
Cochlear implants |
Bone-anchored hearing aids |
Auditory brainstem implants |
Children |
215 |
16 |
0 |
Adult |
214 |
88 |
7 |
The specialist accommodation on Level 1 of the hospital is named
after Miss Emmeline Waley-Cohen, who left us a generous legacy
to help provide a purpose-built centre to help people who are
hearing-impaired.
Geographical area:
The core area served by the Centre is East Anglia, comprising
the counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire,
Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire. We also see patients who travel
to us from as far afield as Powys, Sussex and Yorkshire.
About cochlear implants
There are many reasons for hearing loss: the hearing pathway
can be damaged at any point from the outer ear to the brain. An
implant is only of potential benefit for some people who have
deafness - others might benefit more from conventional hearing
aids. Our assessment process aims to establish the best kind of
hearing aid for an individual.
The technology of implants has advanced rapidly in recent years.
They are now an accepted treatment for profound or total deafness
in appropriately selected patients of all ages.
'A diagram of a cochlear implant. Implants do not
cure deafness, they should be considered as a more effective hearing
aid for some types of deafness.'
Referral:
New patients in our catchment area need to be referred by their
general practitioners (GPs) to an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Consultant,
who will then refer suitable patients to us. Both the assessment
process and surgery/implant are subject to funding approval by
your local health trust.
Acknowledgements and credits
Early development of the Emmeline website was made possible
with funding from the Cambridge Hearing Trust. The National Deaf
Children's Society and Cochlear (UK) Ltd kindly gave us permission
to use the implant diagrams. Photographs were taken by Medical
Photography at Addenbrooke's and Kate Price.
Also on this website:
On other websites:
Manufacturers of cochlear implants:
For further information contact: The Emmeline Centre, Box 163,
Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ; Tel: 01223
217 589 (voice/minicom hospital extension 3589); Fax: 01223 586
735; E-mail: emmelinecentrereception@addenbrookes.nhs.uk |
