title: Efficacy of the active middle-ear implant in patients with sensorineural hearing loss.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This systematic review aims to advise on the effectiveness of the active middle-ear implant in patients with sensorineural hearing loss, compared with external hearing aids.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search of several electronic databases, including PubMed and Embase, was used to identify relevant studies for inclusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fourteen comparative studies were included. Nine studies reported on the primary outcome of functional gain: one found that the middle-ear implant was significantly better than external hearing aids (p < 0.001), while another found that external hearing aids were generally significantly better than middle-ear implants (p < 0.05). Six of the seven remaining studies found that middle-ear implants were better than external hearing aids, although generally no clinically significant difference (i.e. ≥ 10 dB) was seen.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Generally, the active middle-ear implant appears to be as effective as the external hearing aid in improving hearing outcomes in patients with sensorineural hearing loss.
authors.affiliation: Australian Safety and Efficacy Register of New Interventional Procedures - Surgical, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thavaneswaran
authors.forename: I H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D006309:Hearing; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards*; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D009998:Ossicular Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D013067:Speech Perception; D016896:Treatment Outcome