Final answer:
Individuals with sensorineural hearing loss and congenital deafness are common candidates for cochlear implants. Cochlear implants may also be suitable for clients with presbycusis if it involve sensorineural deterioration. They are not typically used for conductive hearing loss, as this can often be treated with other methods. Option A.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student question asks which clients are candidates for cochlear implants. Candidates for cochlear implantation typically include those with sensorineural hearing loss and those with congenital deafness, where there is damage or loss of the hair cells in the cochlea but the auditory nerve remains functional.
Clients with presbycusis (age-related hearing loss) may also be candidates if their condition involves sensorineural elements.
However, cochlear implants are generally not the first line of treatment for conductive hearing loss, where the problem is with the transmission of sound through the middle ear to the cochlea, as this type can often be treated with hearing aids or other surgical procedures that do not involve a cochlear implant.
To further clarify, cochlear implants work by picking up sound through a microphone, processing it to highlight the range of human speech, and then converting it into electrical impulses that directly stimulate the auditory nerve.
Therefore, they are suitable for hearing losses where the auditory nerve is intact but the cochlea is nonfunctional, making them ineffective for types of hearing loss where the auditory nerve itself is damaged.
Hence, the right answer is option A.