London, Aug. 28: Here’s some hope of a cure for deafness. British doctors have successfully restored a woman’s hearing in both of her ears in a single implant.
The unnamed patient, who has been deaf since birth, received the cochlear implant at Southampton General Hospital. The electronic device has two wires running from it, with one leading into one inner ear and the other running under scalp into the other ear, the Daily Express reported.
Fine tuning is needed over the coming week to see if the four-hour operation was a success but it is expected to give the 44-year-old woman much improved bilateral hearing.
The Royal National Institute for Deaf People welcomed the news of the operation. Mr Crystal Rolfe of the charity said, “Hearing in both ears helps more. As this device costs less than having two implants, it may mean that more adults can benefit from it.”