Zenner H P, Maassen M M, Plinkert P K, Zimmermann R, Baumann J W, Reischl G, Leysieffer H
Universitäts-HNO-Klinik Tübingen.
HNO. 1998 Oct;46(10):844-52. doi: 10.1007/s001060050324.
For the majority of patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) many available hearing aids often do not achieve satisfactory results. For these patients partially implantable hearing devices have been developed, allowing distortion-free hearing and speech intelligibility that may be superior to conventional hearing aids. The external parts of partial implants, however, may result in a patient's stigmatization. Furthermore, they do not use the acoustic properties of the external auditory canal. Recently, we published the successful development of the first totally implantable hearing device for the treatment of SNHL (HNO 46 [1998] 853-863). Here we report the first implantations of this unique, totally implantable electronic hearing system in patients with SNHL: Implex TICA LZ 3001. The implant microphone is implanted subcutaneously in the outer ear canal near the ear drum. The signal is processed by a digitally programmable multichannel audioprocessor located subcutaneously on the bony skull behind the ear. A piezoelectric transducer is coupled to the body of the incus and drives the ossicular chain by vibratory actions. Energy is provided by an implantable battery. Implanted patients describe hearing as being distortion-free and transparent. Speech intelligibility and the hearing of music are improved. Patients may achieve better speech discrimination, especially in the presence of background noise. The aid can be used during sports, including swimming. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the implantation of a totally implantable electronic hearing system in patients. These results encourage further implantations of the totally implantable hearing system in the course of an ongoing clinical study.
对于大多数感音神经性听力损失（SNHL）患者而言，许多现有的助听器往往无法取得令人满意的效果。针对这些患者，已研发出部分可植入式听力设备，其能实现无失真听力以及可能优于传统助听器的言语清晰度。然而，部分植入式设备的外部部件可能会导致患者被污名化。此外，它们并未利用外耳道的声学特性。最近，我们发表了关于首款用于治疗SNHL的完全可植入式听力设备的成功研发成果（《耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志》46 [1998] 853 - 863）。在此，我们报告这款独特的、完全可植入式电子听力系统——Implex TICA LZ 3001在SNHL患者中的首次植入情况。植入式麦克风被皮下植入靠近鼓膜的外耳道。信号由位于耳后颅骨皮下的数字可编程多通道听觉处理器进行处理。一个压电换能器与砧骨体相连，并通过振动作用驱动听骨链。能量由植入式电池提供。植入患者形容听力无失真且清晰。言语清晰度和音乐听力都有所改善。患者在言语辨别方面可能会有更好表现，尤其是在有背景噪音的情况下。该助听设备可在包括游泳在内的运动过程中使用。据我们所知，这是关于完全可植入式电子听力系统在患者中植入的首份报告。这些结果促使在正在进行的临床研究过程中进一步植入完全可植入式听力系统。
