Hearing is Believing: Precision Implantation of Cutting-Edge Hybrid Hearing Devices

KREMS, Austria - Aug. 13, 2020 - PRLog -- Precision surgical implantation of electrodes for the electric-acoustic stimulation of the inner ear can stabilise the long-term residual hearing of severely hearing-impaired people and significantly improve their speech recognition. These are the findings of a study carried out by Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in Krems (KL Krems). The research, which has been published in an international journal, involved carrying out 18 complex operations on patients, who received cochlear implants using a procedure that leaves the anatomy of the inner ear virtually unaltered. The cutting-edge treatment enabled some of the patients to retain their residual hearing, allowing for supplementary acoustic stimulation in addition to electrical stimulation.

Cochlear implants (CI) are wonders of modern technology that work by converting sound impulses into nerve signals. They allow even children and adults who have total hearing loss to perceive sound – enabling them to follow conversations and enjoy music. But not everyone who could benefit from a CI has total hearing loss.Implant candidates include people with partial hearing loss who have some low-frequency residual hearing, but severe loss in the high-frequency ranges. These frequencies are particularly important for understanding speech and successful communication. People with high-frequency hearing loss are not able to understand speech adequately with a hearing aid alone. But technological advances and surgical procedures are now enabling people with this type of hearing loss to benefit from a technology called electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS), which boosts low frequencies purely by acoustic means, while relying on the more complex electrical stimulation of the hearing nerve for mid and high frequencies. A medical team at Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in Krems has demonstrated that the technology is effective and can stabilise long-term residual hearing.

Original publication: Long-term Hearing Preservation in Electric Acoustic Cochlear Implant Candidates. G. M. Sprinzl, P. Schoerg, S. H. Edlinger & A. Magele.  Otol Neurotol. 2020 Jul;41(6):750-757. DOI: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000002627

http://www.kl.ac.at/