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Human temporal bones versus mechanical model to evaluate three middle ear transducers

Christof Stieger, MSc, et al.

Figure. Schematic view of three implantable hearing aid transducers.

Approximately one out of seven persons in the United States and an even larger portion of veterans experience hearing loss. Conventional hearing aids have a number of drawbacks, such as feedback and limited speech understanding, which might be reduced with new implantable hearing aids. Testing and improving implantable hearing aids is a complex task. In this article, a life-size mechanical middle ear was evaluated and used for the first time to test three different implantable hearing aid designs. Compared with tests that use human temporal bones, handling of the mechanical model was simpler and less time-consuming.


Volume 44 Number 3 2007
Pages 407 — 416

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