Cochlear implant

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Cochlear implant

Cochlear implant

An implant which replaces normal hearing. An external microphone transmits a sound signal to electrodes wrapped around the inner ear's auditory sensing nerves. The electrodes stimulate the nerves according to the sound, creating a sensation of hearing. It's not as good as a natural ear, but it's a lot better than being deaf.

Base Stats

Type
Medical ItemsBody Parts
Market Value
220 Silver
Flammability
70%

Creation

Crafted At
Machining table
Required Research
Prosthetics
Skill Required
Crafting 5
Work To Make
15,000 ticks (4.17 mins)
Resources to make
Steel 20 + Component 4
Technical
techHediffsTags
Simple
tradeTags
TechHediff


The cochlear implant is an ear replacement with 65% efficiency. Since the game gives a greater weighting on the more capable part when calculating hearing, with it contributing to 75% of a pawn's hearing capability, installing a single cochlear implant reduces hearing by 9%, and a second reduces it by 26% to 65%.

Acquisition

Crafting a cochlear implant requires Prosthetics to be researched and a crafting skill of 5. It is crafted at a machining table for Steel 20 steel and Component 4 components.

It can also be purchased from traders or occasionally found installed on raiders

Summary

One implant is a modest improvement for colonists who perform Social or Animal Training tasks, and a perfect choice for body modders who do not. Otherwise wait for a (single) bionic ear, which maxes hearing. A second implant is only 1/3 the improvement of the first, so, again, wait for the improved version.

Installation

Installing the part requires 2,500 ticks (41.67 secs) of work, ?x medicine of ?? quality or better, and a Medical skill of 4.

Removing the part requires ? of work, ?x medicine of ?? quality or better, and a Medical skill of ?.

If the operation fails, the part has a chance[What Chance?] to be destroyed.

Analysis

The hearing stat only helps with two things: colonists performing social tasks (trading, prisoner recruitment), and colonists who are training animals (Tame Animal Chance). Hearing also affects social ineraction between pawns, so an implant will slightly increase their chances to share a double bed.

Another candidate is a body modder who does not perform those tasks, as bad hearing doesn't hurt anything else and makes the 'modder happy (see below). The cochlear implant also acts as a cosmetic replacement for a missing ear, so can be used to removed the "Disfigured" social penalty a missing ear inflicts.

The hearing stat favors the better ear by 75%, so a stone deaf, "0% hearing" colonist, with 1 implant, gets 48% hearing improvement, and the full 65% with two implants. However, a colonist with standard hearing loss in both ears would only improve from 50% to 61% from 1 implant, a 22% relative improvement, but waiting for one bionic ear would improve hearing to 106%; and since the hearing stat maxes at 100%, that's all anyone needs.

There is also a niche use for Body modder pawns - as the penalties only affects two specialized work types, the majority of pawns will have no significant penalty from having the implant installed, even if they were healthy to begin with. Thus installing two cochlear implants can be an easy, cheap, and effective way to get way to give a permanent +7 mood buff to transhumanist even in the early game, so long as they are never expected to do anything social or train animals.

Cochlear implant require a Medical skill of 4 to install.