Related Experiment Videos
Auditory brainstem implant in bilateral and completely ossified cochleae
Alexis Bozorg Grayeli1, Didier Bouccara, Michel Kalamarides
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hôpital Beaujon AP-HP and Faculté Xavier Bichat, INSERM, Université Paris, France. alexis.bozorg-grayeli@bjn.ap-hop-paris.fr
Summary
Auditory brainstem implantation successfully restored hearing in a patient with complete cochlear ossification due to meningitis. This procedure offers an effective alternative for severe hearing loss when cochlear implants are not viable.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Bilateral total hearing loss following bacterial meningitis can lead to cochlear ossification, rendering traditional cochlear implantation impossible.
- Auditory brainstem implantation (ABI) presents a potential alternative for auditory restoration in such complex cases.
Observation:
- A 49-year-old male with postmeningitis bilateral total hearing loss presented with completely ossified cochleae.
- Diagnostic imaging confirmed bilateral cochlear ossification and ruled out central auditory pathway abnormalities.
Findings:
- A left auditory brainstem implantation using a Nucleus 22-channel device was performed.
- Postoperatively, 12 electrodes were activated with defined tonotopy. Significant speech recognition scores were achieved (50% disyllabic words, 60% sentences) with sound alone, improving to 80% and 93% with lip-reading at 26 months.
Implications:
- Auditory brainstem implantation is a viable and effective option for auditory rehabilitation in patients with bilateral total hearing loss and ossified cochleae.
- ABI should be considered when cochlear implantation is predicted to fail due to cochlear ossification.