Multiplace Delivery System
Monthly Hyperbaric Safety Notice: June 2006
Cochlear Implants
In this notice, handling of patients who have cochlear implants is discussed.
Background
Every item taken into the hyperbaric chamber must be determined safe and compatible with raised environmental pressures and high oxygen concentrations.
The Issue
Most of the equipment and devices that arrive with the patient for their hyperbaric treatment are readily apparent. Some are not, and the increasing pace of biomedical research will frequently test those who are responsible for setting standards (chamber ‘go’ or ‘no go’ items) and screening patients for compliance with these standards.
In many cases, equipment and other devices do not have the benefit of specific manufacturer-related hyperbaric compatibility testing. One such item is the cochlear implant. These devices are implanted to improve hearing, but are very different from the workings of a hearing aid. Instead of simply amplifying sound, the cochlear implant actually compensates for damaged or non-working parts of the inner ear. It consists of a microphone, a speech processor, a transmitter/receiver stimulator, and electrodes.
Three cochlear implant models (Clarion1.2; MED-EL Combi-40+ and Nucleus Models C122M and C124M) have undergone repeated pressure testing to 6.0ATA without failure. Prior to the patient entering the hyperbaric chamber, however, the external attachment (speech processor) for these models must be removed.
Bottom Line
Cochlear implant models noted above have been tested to 6.0ATA and continued to perform normally when reconnected to the external speech processor. Such information is not presently available on any other models.
Be sure to remove the external component of the device prior to the patient entering the chamber.
Contributing Author: Claude Wreford-Brown, ACHRN
Claude
is the clinical manager of the hyperbaric medicine department at Virginia Mason
Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, USA. Claude is active within the Baromedical
Nurses Association, and currently serves as its president. He contributed chapters
to the Baromedical Nursing textbook and is an Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical
Society facility accreditation surveyor. Claude has attended both the Hyperbaric
Safety Director training course and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations
Diving Medical Officer Course.
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