title: [Treatment of moderately severe hearing loss with totally implantable hearing aid].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of totally implantable hearing aid (Carina) was assessed in adult patients with bilateral moderate to severe hearing loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  Surgical implantations of Carina were performed in three adult patients with bilateral moderate to severe hearing loss. The safety and effectiveness were evaluated in a more than 12 months follow-up by comparison of outcomes of PTA and speech audiometry pre and post-operatively. The daily usage of implants was observed and compared with traditional hearing aids.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average elevation of unaided threshold elevation on surgical side was 8.3 dB postoperatively. The average functional gain in four speech frequencies of PTA was 35.4 dB HL and the average threshold decrease of speech discrimination was 22.5 dB HL. The subjective scoring of performance of the implants is significantly higher than traditional hearing aid.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Totally implantable hearing aid (Carina) is an ideal implant to treat moderate to severe hearing loss. Long term follow-up is needed to validate the results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, HKSAR, China. mtong@ent.cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Michael Chi Fai
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Joannie Ka Yin
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Terence Ka Cheong
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: John Ka Keung
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: Charles Andrew
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: van Hasselt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D004869:Equipment Safety; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged