[Studies of sound condition in the reconstructed middle ear with a hydrophone. Initial results]

The acoustic result following reconstruction of the middle ear is often disappointing and unpredictable. Apart from biologic factors, this is due to insufficient knowledge of the mechanism of sound transmission through the operated middle ear. Therefore, temporal bone experiments with simulated middle ear operations were set up to investigate the sound transmission following different prosthesis' designs, materials, etc. We developed a tiny hydrophone which has a frequency range from 100 Hz to 10 kHz in order to measure the sound pressure in the cochlear fluid. By comparing the sound pressure in the inner ear with the sound pressure at the drum membrane, we were able to analyze the transfer function of the manipulated middle ear. First results with different reconstruction techniques, prosthesis' designs and attachments demonstrated the usefulness of this measuring technique for the development of acoustically better middle ear reconstructions.