Tiernan: Cochlear Implants

“Right away we saw his face change and his mouth kind of drop open. And you could tell that he was hearing and he had this sense that he never had before.”

— Tiernan’s mom

Meet Tiernan

After Tiernan failed hearing tests at birth and two months old, he was diagnosed with profound sensorineural hearing loss (his ears weren’t able to send sound to his brain). But he was a candidate for cochlear implants in both ears. These devices deliver amplified sound to the cochlea (inner ear), and use electrical signals to directly stimulate the hearing nerve.

Watch as Tiernan’s implants are activated at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware on his first birthday. See how this life-changing procedure opened a new world of sound and language.