A new design for an implantable hearing aid.
There have been attempts to design a totally implantable hearing aid but, so far, the devices described in the literature have had various disadvantages. This paper describes a new type of hearing aid that is being implanted and tested in chinchillas. This device parallels the natural hearing mechanism and operates in conjunction with residual hearing, while providing amplified drive to the ossicular chain. Implantation procedures and results are described and discussed.
D000818:Animals; D002682:Chinchilla; D006310:Hearing Aids