title: Long-term results of incus vibroplasty in patients with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The principal aim of this study was to assess the safety and effectiveness of the middle ear implant Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) in patients with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss up to a mean (± standard deviation) duration of 11.1 ± 2.1 years (min. = 8.2, max. = 13.9, n = 16) after the intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective, single-subject repeated-measurements study over a long-term period. A total of 104 German-speaking adults (for 122 implants) were included in this study (54 male, 50 female). The mean age at implantation was 54.5 years (min. = 19.0, max. = 80.4). Audiological outcome and speech intelligibility were assessed in all VSB patients at different time points in non-overlapping groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bone conduction (BC) thresholds were preserved after the implantation and no indication was found of an increase over time of the small air-bone gaps introduced by the implantation. BC and air conduction thresholds worsened similarly in both implanted and non-implanted ears over time. The decrease in audiological benefit provided by the VSB was moderate and the Word Recognition Score in quiet conditions at 65 dB SPL was still largely improved with the VSB in the longest observed group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results confirm that the VSB does not affect the integrity of the inner/middle ear and is still beneficial in long-term follow-up.
authors.forename: Hannes
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: Anna-Lena
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Hinze
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gerdes
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Busch
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salcher
authors.forename: Burkard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schwab
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lenarz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001844:Bone Conduction; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural; D006801:Humans; D007188:Incus / Q000601:surgery*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009998:Ossicular Prosthesis; D019933:Ossicular Replacement / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013067:Speech Perception; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult