Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2014 May;57(5):344-347. 10.3342/kjorl-hns.2014.57.5.344.

A Case of Middle Ear Implantation with Vibroplasty Coupler at the Stapes

• Lee JM
• Suh YS
• Choi JY
• Kim BG

• KMID: 2277906
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3342/kjorl-hns.2014.57.5.344

Abstract

Middle ear implantation is an effective treatment for sensorineural, conductive and mixed hearing loss. The active middle ear implant's floating mass transducer (FMT) is placed on the middle ear structure or coupled to the inner ear fluid. Since the device is not directly placed on the external auditory canal, patients are free from feedback phenomenon and occlusion effect resulting from hearing aids. A 66-year-old patient suffered from bilateral hearing loss. The patient had difficulties in adapting to a conventional hearing aid because of feedback phenomenon in the right ear. The patient underwent a middle ear implantation using a CliP-Coupler to connect stapes head and FMT in the left ear. To our knowledge, this is the first case reported in Korea on middle ear implantation with CliP-Coupler at the stapes, for which hearing results were successful at postoperative 7 months.

Keyword

Middle ear implant; Mixed hearing loss; Stapes

MeSH Terms

Aged
Ear
Ear Canal
Ear, Inner
Ear, Middle
Head
Hearing
Hearing Aids
Hearing Loss, Bilateral
Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural
Humans
Korea
Ossicular Prosthesis*
Stapes*
Transducers