Audiological Approach to Middle Ear Implant Applications

The prevalence of hearing loss in all countries is approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide. The use of hearing aids could minimize these problems. While some patients benefit from hearing aids, others do not benefit from them or cannot use them at all. Conventional hearing aids have some disadvantages such as acoustic feedback, some problems related to dermatitis and cerumen, limited amplification in high frequencies, and sound distortion problems. With the development of technology, implantable hearing aids have been developed to overcome these disadvantages. Patients with medical problems associated with conventional hearing aids, especially those with moderate to severe sensorineural, conductive, or mixed hearing losses, represent the gray area for amplification. For these types of patients, implantable hearing aids may be accepted as a second chance. These devices vary in design, but all aim to deliver mechanical energy to the ossicular chain or inner ear windows to stimulate the auditory system. Middle ear implantable devices directly stimulate the ossicular chain of the middle ear or the windows of the inner ear, providing a more natural sound. This direct stimulation reduces acoustic feedback and eliminates the occlusion effect of the open ear canal.