New implant brings sound to the soundless in Mill Neck

The Island Now

A Cochlear Implant satellite center is now based on the Mill Neck campus at the Mildred and Frank Feinberg Community Center for Hearing Health. 

MAPping, the post-operative programming following cochlear implant surgery, will be provided by a licensed cochlear implant audiologist. Residents with cochlear implants now have a local alternative for MAPping. 

MAPping is initially conducted approximately three to four weeks following cochlear implant surgery, when an audiologist activates the external component of the device. 

To ensure that a post-implant patient hears as well as possible, subsequent appointments are necessary, and are especially crucial during the first year after surgery, according to Sabrina Vitulano, a licensed cochlear implant audiologist at the Ear Institute. Patients should, however, have their cochlear implants MAPped for as long as they have the device. At a recent visit to the Mill Neck satellite center, she emphasized the necessity of patient compliance in keeping post-op evaluation appointments. 

Vitulano said, “While MAPping is done less frequently after the first year post-op, patients should have at least an annual evaluation. This enables the audiologist to make adjustments based on the patient’s needs and also determine that the equipment is working properly. For example, if the implant’s electrodes are out of alignment, the individual will still be able to hear, just not as clearly.” The goal of all this fine-tuning is to achieve a normal hearing range while the device is in use.

The center is partnership between Mill Neck Manor School for the Deaf and Mill Neck Audiology, along with the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary’s Ear Institute. 

Many of the children who are students at Mill Neck’s Deaf Education Center have cochlear implants. In addition, more Long Island residents requiring MAPping will benefit as well. Hoping people will look into this new community offering, Francine Bogdanoff, Mill Neck Manor’s superintendent, said the new center provides, “an excellent option for many children and their families, not to mention adults with cochlear implants.”

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