Hearing with a cochlear implant is only possible if the central auditory pathway is intact. All neural structures leading from the inner ear to the brain are meant to be the central auditory pathway. And the non-transmission of nerve impulses is a rare occurrence. The neural structures remember: What in the vast majority of hearing-impaired and / or practically deaf individuals does not work properly is the conversion of motion (sound waves) into electrical impulses in the inner ear.

In other words, if this condition is met, we recommend a unilateral or bilateral cochlear implantation for children over the age of six months who suffer from hearing loss on both sides of the inner ear and who have either no, or only limited benefits from hearing-aids that fit on both sides.

The cochlear implants are also recommended for adult patients who have acquired post-lingual hearing loss on both sides of the inner ear achieving only a limited hearing gain on both sides even with the best hearing aids.

Parents who believe or know that their children are deaf or hard of hearing should contact us directly or, alternatively, an information centre for deaf people, their pediatrician, or an ENT specialist.

If you know that your child suffers from hearing impairment, we start helping you by:

Endeavouring to give you strength in this difficult situation.

Providing you with detailed information and advice about CI and speech and auditory development following cochlear implantation.

Conducting further medical examinations and observing the development of your child with you. Based upon this observation and assessment, we also comment on expectations for the period following cochlear implantation.

We work together with you to prepare the interdisciplinary decisions necessary in relation to the cochlear implantation.

For surgery, a three-day hospital stay is usually required. When preparing for surgery, a thorough medical preliminary examination will take place in the clinic. It is therefore necessary for 1-2 days to be scheduled for this.
A unilateral CI operation lasts between 90 minutes and two hours, and a bilateral CI lasts three-and-a-half to four hours.
In Berlin, CIC cooperates very closely with different hospitals/clinics.
In addition, our rehabilitation is open to all children, adolescents and adults supplied with CI regardless of the implanting clinic or implant type.

For many years, parents of hearing-impaired children have experienced the joy of their children being able to hear and – through therapeutic support –gaining the ability to speak. The Cochlear Implant (CI), an electronic hearing aid implanted inside the inner ear during surgery, makes this small miracle possible. The decisive factor in the success of the implant is the holistic nature of the post-implant rehabilitation process which is both individual and family-oriented.
Our Cochlear Implant Centre, based in Berlin-Brandenburg, was established in June 2000 and is located in the Werner Otto House where we carry out the post-operation rehabilitation.
At our centre, children, adolescents and adult who have either an unilateral or bilateral CI will receive therapeutic and pedaudiological attention for at least two years after surgery. But that is not all: the CIC will remain your contact for all matters relating to your Cochlear Implant.

Start-up Phase:

It is mainly due to parents’ commitment towards their hearing-impaired children as well as to adult CI users that the idea of a CI rehabilitation centre for Berlin-Brandenburg became a reality. This resulted in the CIC cooperating with the Berlin-Brandenburgischen Cochlear Implant Gesellschaft e.V., public authorities, Health Insurance Funds, and the MEDIAN Kliniken Verwaltungsgesellschaft. Werner Otto, a businessman from Hamburg, also provided immense support having already committed himself for over 50 years to early diagnosis and treatment for disabled children.

Our management company is a non-profit association: BBCIG e.V.