Meet Dr. Megan Blunt, Cochlear Implant Programming Specialist in Nashville
If your audiologist has started talking about cochlear implants, you're probably wondering what comes next and who will help you through it. The path usually starts with a referral for a cochlear implant candidacy evaluation, which includes detailed hearing and speech testing with properly fit hearing aids.
You'll also meet with an ear surgeon (an otologist or neurotologist) who reviews your medical history and imaging to decide whether surgery is right for you. If you and your care team decide to move forward, the surgeon places the implant, usually as an outpatient procedure. A few weeks later, your implant is turned on for the first time. That's where Dr. Megan Blunt at Ears4U Hearing Services comes in. She specializes in activating and programming cochlear implants (often called "mapping") and in the years of follow-up care that help you get the most from your device.
Why Cochlear Implants Require Specialized Care
A cochlear implant isn't something you try on and take home. It involves a surgeon, months of adjustments, and a level of ongoing care that most general audiology practices aren't designed to handle well. The surgery itself is just the beginning.
After the implant is placed, it has to be programmed, a process audiologists call "mapping," and that's not a single appointment. Your brain is learning to process sound in a completely new way, so the settings need to change regularly over the weeks and months following surgery. If those sessions aren't timed right, or if the programming isn't dialed in, you can end up frustrated with a device that should be working well for you. That's exactly what specialized cochlear implant care is designed to prevent.
Dr. Blunt's Training and Background
Dr. Blunt earned her Doctorate in Audiology at Vanderbilt University. Her clinical training included a full-year externship at the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, where she worked with veterans dealing with complex hearing loss, including many who went on to receive cochlear implants. That experience gave her a strong foundation in the nuanced, patient-by-patient decision-making that cochlear implant care requires.
Since joining the Nashville audiology community in 2020, she's built her practice around implant patients specifically, not as an add-on to a hearing aid caseload, but as her primary clinical focus.
What to Expect During Your Care
Dr. Blunt is involved at every stage of the cochlear implant process, and each step connects directly to the next.
Candidacy evaluation. Not everyone with severe hearing loss is a cochlear implant candidate. Dr. Blunt runs the diagnostic testing to figure out whether an implant is likely to give you better results than hearing aids, based on your specific type of hearing loss.
Surgical coordination. If you're a candidate, she works with the surgical team to make sure everything moves forward smoothly, so you're not stuck in limbo between providers who aren't communicating with each other.
Device activation. This is often one of the most emotional appointments. When the implant is turned on for the first time, the sound you hear won't be what you're used to, and it takes time for your brain to adjust. Dr. Blunt walks you through what that experience is like so you know what to expect.
Ongoing mapping. This is where long-term success really happens. Regular programming sessions fine-tune the implant as your hearing develops, and Dr. Blunt schedules them at the intervals that give you the best chance at getting full benefit from your device.
The goal is for these stages to feel like one continuous relationship, not a series of disconnected appointments.
How Ears4U Is Different
Many practices in the Nashville and Brentwood area offer cochlear implant services, but that can mean different things. Often it's a general audiologist fitting in occasional mapping sessions alongside a full schedule of hearing aid patients. That's not wrong, but it's not the same as having a provider whose training and daily work centers on implant care.
Dr. Blunt's practice is built around evidence-based cochlear implant management. She genuinely invests in the long-term follow-up work, the part that most affects whether patients actually thrive with their devices. That combination of deep clinical training and real commitment to follow-through is hard to replicate when CI care is treated as an afterthought.
A Little About Dr. Blunt
When she's not in the clinic, Dr. Blunt enjoys video games, cooking, reading, and spending time with her husband and two cats. She brings that same low-key warmth into her appointments. Patients dealing with something as significant as hearing loss deserve a provider who's both technically skilled and easy to talk to.
Ready to Talk About Your Options?
If hearing aids aren't giving you what you need, a cochlear implant evaluation is a reasonable next step, even if you're not sure yet whether you're a candidate. Dr. Megan Blunt and the team at Ears4U Hearing Services will walk you through the process, answer your questions, and help you figure out what makes sense for your situation.
Call or text 615-205-7942 to schedule a consultation at our Nashville location.
