[Implantable bone conduction hearing aids]

Abstract

Conventional extern bone conduction hearing aids often cause retroauricular pain by compression of the skin, distortion is enhanced by the vibrational pattern and feedback can be a problem and, last but not least, do not fit into cosmetic schemes. We report about experiences with 2 different systems of partly implantable bone conduction hearing aids which were designed to overcome the technical, audiological and cosmetical problems of conventional bone conduction hearing aids. There is a transcutaneous and a percutaneous system discussed. Clinical experiences demonstrate that the percutaneous system is superior in both objective hearing gain and patient acceptance.