BOSTON -- For the millions of Americans wearing hearing aids, the technology has come a long way in terms of sound quality.

But, NewsCenter 5's Heather Unruh reported, there are still drawbacks, including that they are usually noticeable.

The Lahey Clinic is the first medical center in New England to test an implantable hearing device.

It wasn't easy for Judy Holbrook to accept the fact she needed hearing aids. At the time, she was only in her 40s.

Once she tried the aids, she said they made a huge difference. But still, there are limitations.

"There's wind noise when you're outside, and obviously in a wet environment, you can't swim with them. You can't be in an absolute downpour in them," she said.

Holbrook recently became one of the first in the country to get a completely implantable hearing device. The Envoy is a mini-computer that senses minute vibrations at the eardrum. Because there's no hearing aid or other blockage in the ear canal, it's able to use the natural acoustics of the ear to process sounds.

"This is really cutting edge technology and will improve hearing in patients that had absolutely no hope before with any conventional aid," said Dr. Peter Catalano, of the Lahey Clinic.

But it does involve major three- to four-hour surgery that entails disconnecting the middle ear bone. Lahey is the only New England hospital testing the device. Doctors have tried it on three other patients so far.

"I had a woman, she just sat outside the bench near the clinic when we first turned it on and she couldn't believe she could hear people's high heels on the sidewalk -- click, click, click. She hadn't heard that ever," Catalano said.

Holbrook is hoping she'll be able to hear while doing simple things like showering, and be able to use a cell phone, which is hard to do now.

"All the feedback and whistling and all those kinds of things will go away, which is real exciting," she said.

One of the biggest downsides of the Envoy could be the cost. The conventional hearing aide can cost $1,000 to $3,000, but the Envoy costs about $20,000 and is not expected to be covered by insurance.

It will take two months of healing time before Holbrook's implant can actually be turned on. NewsCenter 5 will have an update on her progress.