Thieves Mistake Cochlear Implant For Blue Tooth Headset

Posted by Steve Spalding in Featured | View comments

At a McDonalds in South LA, teenage thieves made a mistake. Attempting to add to their collection of cell phone accessories, they stole what they thought was a blue-tooth headset from a 3 year old boy, Jose Franco. As it turns out, it was actually the external processor to the cochlear implant Jose uses to hear.





Cochlear Implants

Cochlear implants are two stage devices that help simulate hearing for those with profound hearing lose. The internal portion consists of a receiver and a stimulator, attached to the bones within the ear. Along with electrodes wound through the cochlea (the auditory portion of the inner ear) this part of the device receives and translates signals from the other, external portion of the implant.

The portion that these clever thieves mistook for a cell phone headset.

The external processor costs about $7,000 but is completely worthless to the thieves (unless they also happen to be deaf). What’s more surprising than the theft is that this isn’t the first time Jose has had his speech processor purloined. The last time it was stolen in a snatch and grab, his mother managed to chase the thieves down to get it back.

The biggest concern I have, other than for the boy’s hearing, is for these thieves. I can almost understand the confusion if the victim hadn’t been three years old but honestly, do they run into a lot of toddlers with high powered careers? Are cell phone accessories become really big in the pre-school circuit?

Luckily, the John Tracy clinic in South LA will probably cover the costs of replacing the implant but still it’s a process that might take months. Until then, Jose is relying on a backup and the thieves are probably still trying to figure out how to get the speech processor synced with their RAZR’s.

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