The coupling of the actuator "Middle Ear Transducer"-middle ear implants at different positions of the Stapes

Introduction:

For the treatment of combined hearing loss, implantation active middle ear implants is possible. The indication for this includes the patients who, after frustrated middle ear surgery for hearing improvement, still have a larger conductive component of the hearing loss with a good residual hearing of the cochlea.

Material and Method:

Three patients were treated with the "Middle Ear Trasducer" for the treatment of combined hearing loss.

All patients had moderate to severe combined hearing after previous middle ear surgery.

The coupling of the extended tip of the actuator was in one case to the stapes head, in a second case to the angle between the stapes footplate and the front leg and in the third case by a cochleostomy on the stapes footplate intracochlear.

Results:

The air conduction hearing curve of the patients preoperatively averaged 98.50 dB. The bone conduction curve preoperatively was 50.14 dB (average sound conduction component 48.36 dB). The postoperative hearing level with the implant averaged 47.73 dB.

The understanding of monosyllables at 80 dB signal volume was preoperatively between 0% and 25%. Postoperatively, the patients with the activated middle ear implants were able to develop a monosyllabic understanding between 15% and 90%. In particular, the patient with the intracochlear attachment of the tip of the actuator could achieve the best results in speech understanding.

Discussion:

In particular, the intracochlear insertion of the tip of the mechanical actuator achieves significantly better hearing results compared to the extracochlear application types.

Prof. Dr. med. Omid Majdani

Klinikum Wolfsburg,

Sauerbruchstr. 7, 38440

Wolfsburg

Email: [e-mail]

Publication History

Publication Date:
23 April 2019 (online)