MITERA: Cochlear Implant Department Established

04 June 2019

The first private Cochlear Implant Department in Greece has been established in the MITERA Hospital ENT Clinic. The Clinic undertakes to perform comprehensive hearing screening and surgical repair with cochlear implant for patients with complete deafness. Professor Iakovos Petmezakis is the Clinic Director, and Mr Konstantinos Christidis and Ms Alexandra Vasileiou are the scientific heads.

Cochlear implants are the latest advancement in technology. Nowadays, people of all ages who have suffered serious hearing loss to the point of borderline deafness may have their hearing restored with cochlear implants. As opposed to hearing aids, a cochlear implant does not make the sound louder or clearer, but bypasses the parts of the auditory system that have been damaged and directly stimulates the cochlear nerves, resulting in hearing perception.

As noted by Professor Iakovos Petmezakis, Director of the MITERA Hospital ENT Clinic, “Up until a few years ago, deafness could not be treated adequately, so deaf people were forced to live without this valuable sense. These days, cochlear implants are an impressive medical discovery, since it is the first time that a sense – such as hearing – that has been lost or was never there may be restored.”