MODEL RELEASED. Cochlear implant surgery. Scalp of a 5-year-old girl being sewn up after surgery for a cochlear implant. During the operation, which lasts several hours, the internal part of the device is placed under the skin behind the ear. It is anchored to the bone of the skull, and consists of a receiver, to collect sounds from the external microphone, and a stimulator. The stimulator turns sound into electrical impulses and sends them to electrodes implanted in the cochlea in the inner ear. The cochlea is the organ of hearing, and the impulses are sent along the auditory nerve to the brain, allowing those with hearing losses to regain a sense of hearing. Photographed in the Robert Debre Hospital, Paris, France.