Are You a Candidate?

Cochlear implant candidacy criteria is set based on research that has shown that those who meet this criteria can safely benefit from cochlear implant technology.  The candidacy criteria for the cochlear implant is approved by Health Canada.      

The traditional cochlear implant candidacy criteria for adults (18 years and older) is as follows:  

  • Moderate to severe/profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears
  • Limited benefit from well fit hearing aids
  • Hearing loss that developed after (post-linguistic) learning speech and language and before (pre-linguistic) learning speech and language, if they communicate orally.  
  • No medical contraindications
  • Realistic expectations and a desire to be a part of the hearing world.

 

Please note:  As of January 2020, the BC Adult Cochlear Implant Program expanded the cochlear implant candidacy criteria to include patients with single-sided deafness, asymmetrical hearing loss, and bilateral sequential cochlear implantation for those that no longer benefit from amplification on their non-implanted side. These patients will need to be assessed to determine candidacy.  If you have been referred and documents are being requested from you, you have been identified as a possible candidate for assessment.  Once the completed documents have been received, they will be reviewed by the cochlear implant team to determine if a candidacy assessment is appropriate.