Effect of active middle ear implant on auditory speech perception in individuals with ear malformation

To verify the results of active middle ear implant on audibility and auditory speech perception in individuals with external and/or middle ear malformations.

Primary, observational, retrospective study, through analysis of medical records of individuals with bilateral external and/or middle ear malformations, unilateral users of active middle ear implant. The data collected refer to auditory thresholds obtained through free-field audiometry and assessment of auditory speech perception - sentence recognition in silence and noise, in the following situations: without the implant, at the time of activation, in the first and in the third month of use.

Nine individuals were included in the study. The average age at the time of activation was 24.6 years (minimum 12 and maximum 40 years). Statistically significant improvement in auditory thresholds (p<0.05) and in the sentence recognition test in silence and noise (p<0.05) was observed at the time of activation. There was no significant difference between the evaluation situations after activation, indicating acclimatization by the user.

The results of the active middle ear implant VSB (MED-EL) users on the audibility and auditory speech perception, in individual with external and/or middle ear malformation were better in the activation condition compared to the pre-surgical condition, maintaining stable over time; which reinforces its indication for this population.