Eli5: How do people who’ve never had any hearing, but who receive cochlear implants later in life, understand their “native” language?

Question

I’ve seen videos of people sitting in the doctor’s office getting their implants turned on, and they’re responding to questions like, “Can you hear me?” or “How is the volume?” How do they know what they’re being asked if they’ve never before heard how language sounds?

In: 672

Answer 1

I know that in past years, children were taught to lip read, so maybe that helps them understand.