Cochlear Implant Clinic Open

• Sunday: Closed
• Monday: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Tuesday: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Wednesday: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Thursday: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Friday: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Saturday: Closed

Closed 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. for lunch.

• Preparing for your visit
• During your visit
• After you leave
• Services

• Criteria for cochlear implantation

  We accept adult patients (18 years and older) who meet the following criteria. Note: there is no upper age limit on receiving a cochlear implant:

  • Patient has moderate (in the low frequencies) to profound hearing loss in both ears.
  • Patient has little benefit from well fit hearing aids.
  • Patient’s speech perception scores on a sentence recognition test are 50% or less in the ear to be implanted. The score is 60% or less in the non-implanted ear or in both ears.
  • Patient is motivated and has realistic expectations of the cochlear implant.
  • No medical contraindications.

  Note: As of January 2020, the BC Adult Cochlear Implant Program expanded the cochlear implant candidacy criteria to include patients with single-sided deafness (with duration of deafness of no more than 15 years), asymmetrical hearing loss, and bilateral sequential cochlear implantation for those that no longer benefit from amplification on their non-implanted side. These patients will need to be assessed to determine candidacy. Once the completed documents have been received by the program, they will be reviewed by the cochlear implant team to determine if a candidacy assessment is appropriate.

• Referral process

  Send your referrals to the BC Adult Cochlear Implant Program:

  St. Paul’s Hospital
  BC Rotary Hearing & Balance Centre
  2600 Providence Building
  1081 Burrard Street
  Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6

  Phone: 604-806-8540
  Fax: 604-806-8435

  1. We will send a referral package to the patient. It will include:
     1. Cochlear Implant Questionnaire: The patient or their support person provides relevant patient history.
     2. Cochlear Implant Dizzy Questionnaire: The patient or their support person provides information on the patient's history with dizziness.
     3. Hearing Aid Check: The hearing aid provider provides information on the patient's hearing aids.
  2. The patient will schedule an appointment with their hearing aid provider. They will drop off the completed questionnaires. The hearing aid provider will complete the Hearing Aid Check form.
  3. The hearing aid provider will fax or email the completed documents to the BC Adult Cochlear Implant Program. The provider will also include a current audiogram and any older audiograms

  We will not accept incomplete referral packages. Fax: 604-806-8435 or email: ci@providencehealth.bc.ca. Complete referral packages include the following:

  • For unilateral cochlear implant referrals:
    1. Cochlear Implant Questionnaire
    2. Cochlear Implant Dizzy Questionnaire
    3. Hearing Aid Check
    4. Current audiogram: Including air, bone conduction pure tone testing and speech testing (word recognition scores).
    5. Historical audiograms: Any additional previous audiograms.
  • For sequential bilateral cochlear implant referrals:
    1. Cochlear Implant Questionnaire - Seq Bilateral
    2. Cochlear Implant Dizzy Questionnaire
    3. Hearing Aid Check -Seq Bilateral
    4. Current audiogram: Including air, bone conduction pure tone testing and speech testing (word recognition scores).
    5. Historical audiograms: Any additional previous audiograms.

  Cochlear implant intake meeting: Once we have received all the documents, we will review the referral at our weekly intake meetings.

  • If the patient is NOT a candidate, we will send them a letter advising that they do not yet meet the candidacy criteria.
  • If the patient MIGHT be a candidate, we will contact the patient and schedule a candidacy assessment when they reach the top of the list.
  • If the patient requires a hearing-aid trial or hearing-aid adjustment before a candidacy assessment, we will send the patient, the referrer and the hearing-aid provider a letter to advise them.
  • Hearing Aid Trial/Adjustment: Once the patient has the hearing-aid trial or adjustment, the hearing-aid provider will need to complete a new Hearing Aid Check form and send it in. We will re-review it and decide at a second cochlear-implant intake meeting.

  NOTE: Cochlear implant candidates who were originally referred to the program by an audiologist or a hearing instrument practitioner will be required to obtain a referral from their primary care provider to the office of Dr. Brian Westerberg and Dr. Jane Lea to complete the medical/surgical candidacy assessment. CI candidate - referral to surgeon required

• Cochlear Implant Questionnaire
• Cochlear Implant Questionnaire - Seq Bilateral
• Cochlear Implant Dizzy Questionnaire
• Hearing Aid Check
• Hearing Aid Check - Seq Bilateral