How many cochlear implant candidates are current hearing aid patients being seen in audiology and ENT clinics right now without anyone realizing it?

Meet Hemina Harris, ARNP, a nurse practitioner specializing in general otolaryngology and pediatrics at the University of Iowa Health Care System, adjacent to one of the country’s most established cochlear implant centers. Working on the front lines of ENT, Mina often becomes the first provider to recognize when a patient’s hearing loss may need to progress into a CI consult.

In this episode, we take a closer look at one of the biggest blind spots in cochlear implant care: the referral pathway itself. Why are so many qualified patients still slipping through the cracks? And what happens before they ever reach the cochlear implant team?

What You’ll Hear:

· The Front Door Problem: Why general otolaryngology clinics may be one of the most overlooked opportunities for identifying CI candidates

· “I Thought Hearing Aids Were My Only Option”: The education gap preventing patients from exploring cochlear implants sooner

· The 60/60 Referral Rule: A simple screening framework that can help providers recognize potential CI candidates faster

· Workflow Bottlenecks: How imaging, insurance approvals, scheduling delays, and fragmented communication slow patient access

· The Mid-Level Perspective: Why nurse practitioners and physician assistants are uniquely positioned to improve CI identification and coordination

· Referral Confidence Matters: How seeing successful patient outcomes encourages more providers to refer candidates earlier

· The Communication Disconnect: Why providers inside the same department often never hear what happened after a referral is made

· Building Better Systems: How multidisciplinary teams can improve coordination and reduce the risk of patients getting lost in the process

Mina offers a practical and honest look at what happens in real-world ENT clinics every day. From quick screening conversations to coordinating imaging before surgical consults, this episode highlights the critical role advanced practice providers play in helping patients access cochlear implant care sooner.

Who should listen?

Audiologists, otolaryngologists, neurotologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, primary care providers, cochlear implant coordinators, practice administrators, and anyone involved in hearing healthcare delivery.

If you’ve ever wondered where cochlear implant candidates are getting lost before they even make it to the CI team, this conversation shines a light on the gaps and the opportunities to fix them.

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This episode is sponsored by Envoy Medical.