WWII veteran, 102, regains his hearing and social life, thanks to UCLA cochlear implant program

As a World War II pilot flying B-17 bombers behind enemy lines in Europe, Irvin Poff never backed down in the face of danger.In 1944, while he was flying in formation with a squadron of 28 other Army Air Force planes, an engine on Poff ’s plane failed five minutes before he was ordered to drop 6,000 pounds of explosives over an Austrian oil refinery. Knowing Nazi fighters liked to pick off solo flyers, he diverted full-throttle emergency power to his remaining three engines.“We were supposed to limit emergency power to six minutes to prevent the engines from overheating and exploding,” Poff recalled. “But I pushed it to 10 and stayed in formation.”Regularly racing 20,000 feet skyward in the plane ’s unpressurized cabin wreaked havoc on Poff’s inner ears, though, and that damage led to lifelong hearing loss.When his hearing aids stopped working 75 years later, Poff didn ’t hesitate to pursue surgery for a cochlear implant. In June, the 102-year-old became one of the oldest Americans to receive the life-changing technology.“You have to be open to change,” said Poff, who lives in Ventura County, California. “Because the world is going to change with or without you.”According toDr. Akira Ishiyama, director of UCLA Health ’scochlear implant program, social isolation and age-related hearing loss increase the risk of dementia and  cognitive decline. Many elderly patients suffer needlessly, not realizing that treatment exists, and unaware that Medicare cove...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news