Stimulation of the cochlear nucleus with multichannel auditory brainstem implants and long-term results: Freiburg patients

Since 1992 18 patients with bilateral retrocochlear deafness have been prov ided with a multichannel auditory brainstem implant (ABI). The surgical pro cedure implies tumour removal and ABI implantation in one stage. Most impla ntations were via the translabyrinthine approach. The long-term follow-up v aried between nine and 80 months. In one case auditory perception could not be achieved and in a second case post-operative stimulation was not possib le as the subject died due to Lung emboli. In all the other cases auditory perception was achieved and only two subjects became non-users during the f ollow-up period. The presented long-term results suggest that deaf neurofib romatosis type 2 patients regain acoustic contact with the environment, enl arge their communication skills and improve their quality of life by using a multichannel auditory brainstem prosthesis.