There are times when damage to the cochlea (coke-lee-AH) from disease, injury or toxins is so great - and the hearing loss so profound - that a hearing aid offers no assistance.

A perforated eardrum caused by middle-ear infection or trauma may be repaired through a surgical procedure called tympanoplasy. Under general anesthesia, an ear, nose and throat specialist grafts a small patch from a vein elsewhere in the body onto the eardrum to repair the tear.

If you have large or protruding ears and want to improve your appearance, a reconstructive procedure called Otoplasty (OH-toe-plast-ee) can help. The operation is usually done on children between the ages of four and 14, but it's also recommended for adults including the elderly.

Surgical implants are a viable option for people whose hearing loss is so severe that hearing aids offer little, if any, assistance. The most common type of surgical implant is the cochlear (coke-lee-AR)implant.

Research continues to find ways to restore hearing through different surgical procedures. One of the procedures that has been successful is a cochlear (coke-lee-AR) implant.

Tympanoplasty is a surgical procedure performed to repair a perforated eardrum caused by middle-ear infection or trauma. Under general anesthesia, an ear, nose and throat specialist grafts a small patch from a vein elsewhere in the body onto the eardrum to repair the tear.