For people with hearing loss caused by severe damage to the ear canal, the ear drum, the middle ear bones or the inner ear, implantable devices can provide significant improvement.
A surgical implant is very different from a hearing aid. Hearing aids amplify sound. Implants compensate for damaged or nonworking parts of the middle or inner ear, thereby enabling patients who are not candidates for traditional aids to use amplification.
Implanting a hearing device is a surgical procedure performed by an otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat specialist). Otolaryngologists are trained in surgery as well as medicine. At Lahey Clinic two types of devices are offered:
- The newest technique is to implant a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA). The procedure can be performed in the doctor's office under local anesthesia. This implantable device bypasses the abnormal conduction pathway of the ear, sending vibrations directly to the inner ear. The surgeon embeds a tiny screw into the skull behind the ear. After healing, the screw head is exposed, and a receiver attached to it and turned on. When the receiver picks up a sound, it sends a vibration through the screw into the skull, and directly to the inner ear.
- The Vibrant Med-EL is for those patients with high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss who have not found benefit from traditional aids and complain of difficulty with background noise, a blocked feeling in the ear (occlusion effect), or problems with feedback. This is a "direct drive system," so no ear mold is used. There is a small external device that is held to the skin via an implanted magnet. This procedure must be performed in the operating room under general anesthesia.
The Department of Otolaryngology at Lahey Clinic has the expertise and technology to implant a BAHA or Vibrant Med-EL. Your physician will help you determine whether an implantable device is right for you. These devices are not typically covered by insurance.
