An Older Patient Asks a Nurse, "My Doctor Referred Me

An older patient asks a nurse, "My doctor referred me to a hearing specialist who thinks that surgery for a cochlear implant may be beneficial for me. Can you tell me how one of those things works?" The nurse formulates a response based on the knowledge that:

A) a cochlear implant is permanent, surgically-implanted hearing aid.
B) a cochlear implant speeds up the conduction of sound to the auditory nerve.
C) a cochlear implant functions as an artificial auditory nerve.
D) a cochlear implant directly stimulates the auditory nerve.