The first results of a totally implanted active middle ear device

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Audiology

Background:

• Traditional hearing aids are not suitable for all patients with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss.
• Clinical or cosmetic reasons may prevent the use of conventional hearing devices.
• Active middle ear implants offer an alternative for hearing restoration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the initial clinical outcomes of a fully implantable active middle ear device.
• To assess audiological performance and speech perception after implantation.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective observational study of fifteen patients who received the implant.
• Pre-operative and post-operative audiometric thresholds (air and bone conduction) were analyzed.
• Functional gain, speech perception in silence and noise, and sound localization were evaluated.

Main Results:

• Post-operative mean pure tone thresholds showed significant improvement after device activation.
• Speech understanding in silence improved over 12 months, with better outcomes in patients with mixed hearing loss.
• Speech discrimination in noise and localization abilities were enhanced.

Conclusions:

• The fully implantable active middle ear device is a viable treatment option.
• It is particularly beneficial for patients with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss.
• This device addresses limitations of traditional hearing aids for specific patient groups.