HEARING-AIDS .2. IMPLANTABLE HEARING-AIDS

Technological advances and functional and cosmetic improvements in con ventional hearing aids notwithstanding, there are still individuals fo r whom alternative amplification schemes are desirable, Patients gener ally fitted with bone-conduction hearing aids, eg, those with irrepara ble aural atresia, unremitting otorrhea, earmold allergy, or conductiv e losses not amenable to surgery, have difficulty with the pressure, p oor fidelity, and unattractive appearance of these devices. Patients c apable of wearing conventional air-conduction hearing aids contend wit h sound distortion, feedback, canal occlusion, tight earmolds, and poo r cosmetic appearance.(1) A number of implantable hearing devices are in varying stages of development in an effort to overcome some of the limitations associated with conventional hearing aids.