Implantable hearing aids – implantable hearing aids safe?

Implantable hearing aid–Is implantable hearing aid safe?

Hearing aids have facilitated millions of patients with ear problems, but many patients refuse to use them because they believe that wearing a hearing aid can have a feeling of inferiority and affect their social image. In addition, hearing aids have strict use restrictions: they cannot be worn while bathing or swimming, and most hearing aids are difficult to wear while the patient is asleep. Now, a new type of hearing aid in clinical trials is expected to overcome these problems. It is invisible and waterproof because all of its circuitry, including batteries and amplifiers, is placed in the user’s head.

Hearing aid and body are combined into one

The new device is from Bordo, Colorado, USA (Boulder)ofOtologicsDeveloped by the company, the sound is collected by a loudspeaker implanted under the skin behind the patient’s ear. The signal is processed by the electronic device and transmitted to the micro-vibration piston implanted on the middle ear bone, and then transmitted to the inner ear. The inner ear encodes the vibration signal as a nerve impulse and sends the information to the brain.

OtologicsCompany’s chief executiveJose BedoyaDeclaring: “Patients can therefore have a normal life because of implants. In the past, patients often suffered from various problems because they wore hearing aids, both physical and mental.” He also said that the implant method The change creates a “spiritual motivation” for the new device that will make the patient think that the device is alive. “The implanted device becomes part of the body and the patient feels safer.”

New hearing aidIClinical trial results published in2007Year8American “Otolaryngology”–Head and Neck Surgery magazine.20A subject with severe hearing loss implanted a hearing aid in one ear, and the symptoms were alleviated. among them17The subjects used traditional hearing aids before the experiment. Compared to previous use of traditional hearing aids, subjects experienced worse conditions when using new equipment: the listening range of single-frequency tones decreased.5 ~ 12In decibels, the average language recognition rate has also declined.

On the other hand, a satisfaction survey found that the subjects felt that the device not only improved their hearing, but also the hearing effect was more natural than the traditional hearing aids. The researchers speculate that the new processing algorithm will improve the test results.OtologicsThe company said that it is already working on this.