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Binaural hearing restoration with a bilateral fully implantable middle ear implant
Domenico Cuda1, Alessandra Murri2, Anna Mainardi1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, "Guglielmo da Saliceto" Hospital of Piacenza, Via Cantone del Cristo 40, 29121, Piacenza, Italy.
Aim:
The fully implantable middle ear implant (C-FI-MEI) is designed for patients with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss or those with mixed hearing loss. To analyze the audiological post-operative results of subjects bilaterally implanted with C-FI-MEI.
Materials And Methods:
Retrospective study: 14 patients with bilateral, moderate-to-severe, sensorineural or mixed hearing loss were treated. This clinical sample included 14 cases bilaterally implanted (13 sequentially, 1 simultaneously). The evaluation at each follow-up after surgery included otologic examination, a structured interview, and different audiological tests composed of pure tone audiometry, speech in quiet and in noise test, and localization task. The mean follow-up was 67.2 ± 33 months.
Results:
There were no significant differences between pre and post-operative pure tone averages. The patients showed no significant differences between pre-operatively aided and C-FI-MEI implant-aided conditions in terms of word recognition score. Speech perception in noise under different loudspeaker arrangements and localization tests demonstrated a binaural advantage in bilaterally implanted patients. The mean daily use time was 17.4 and 16.7 h, respectively, for right and left side.
Conclusion:
The results for the 14 patients, bilaterally implanted with C-FI-MEI, suggest that bilateral implantation of fully implantable middle ear hearing devices is an effective procedure.
Level Of Evidence:
4.
