Die Rehabilitation der Schallempfindungsschwerhörigkeit mittels teilimplantierbarem Vibrant Soundbridge System - Ergebnisse des Ulmer Patientenkollektivs

Abstract

The present paper provides an experiental review of the active middle ear implant called Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) and discusses its implications for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss. Pre- and postoperative audiometrical data of 15 patients from the BWK Ulm were evaluated, focusing mainly on functional gain and speech gain. Additionally, a questionnaire study was used to investigate the patients´ personal experience and satisfaction. The results showed, the VSB is suitable for patients with a hearing loss reaching from mild to severe. However, there is a direct correlation between functional gain and degree of hearing loss. Furthermore it was found that the operational procedure is of relatively low risk and that the fixation of the floating mass transducer implicates no additional hearing loss. 87 % of all patients would decide for the VSB again.