UH Case Medical Center new type of cochlear implant device in patients who have difficulty hearing -
University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center in Cleveland is the first to implement a new type of cochlear device for adults who have lost the high frequency range of their audiences, while retaining the low frequencies with or without a hearing aid.
surgery, which took about two hours, was conducted July 31 by
Maroun Semaan, MD, an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and surgeon throat) at UH Case Medical Center on a man in his 60s who had some hearing in the low frequencies, but had lost hearing in high frequencies and found no help with hearing aids.
"This is a hybrid implant in that it comprises an acoustic component that can provide sound reinforcement for the lower frequency preserved hearing and an electronic component that stimulates the auditory nerve electrically to pick up high frequencies" said
Dr. Semaan, who is associate Director, Otology, Neurotology and balance disorders at UH Case medical Center and Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology at the medical school of Case Western Reserve University.
The implant, called Nucleus Hybrid L24 Cochlear Implant System, received US Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA) in the spring of this year. It was implemented in only a handful of medical centers in the nation.
The loss of high frequency hearing usually occurs when there is damage to the inner ear (cochlea). It can be caused by aging, heredity, exposure to noise, medication, such as antibiotics, which are toxic to the inner ear, and some other diseases. People severe or profound suffering loss of high audio frequency sounds may have difficulty hearing soft sounds, understand people with higher pitched voices, hearing some sounds of speech, and in some cases, hearing sirens acute emergency vehicle or common security alarms, such as smoke detectors.
"lost much impact on the quality of life of a patient hearing," said Dr. Semaan. "Compared to the benefits provided by conventional cochlear implants, the hybrid implant device may improve sound richness and quality, music appreciation and improve hearing in noise."
Dr. Semaan and audiologists cochlear implant UH know well the device works in the patient in about six to eight weeks while the unit is on.
"Many patients who were frustrated with their performance of the hearing aid, but were too low frequency hearing to benefit from a cochlear implant, can now qualify for the hybrid implant" said Gail Murray, PhD, director of the Center of audiology and cochlear implant at UH case Medical Center and Associate Professor, Otolaryngology in case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "These patients actually receive the" best "that both technologies have to to offer; low-frequency acoustic hearing of the component of the hearing aid and hearing high frequency electrical stimulation of the cochlear implant. "
UH Case Medical Center anticipates performing five to 10 implants per year.
risks are the same as a conventional cochlear implant, said Dr. Semaan, with the additional risk of 30 percent of hearing loss in the low frequency range.
L24 system consists of a microphone processor and external word that picks up sound from the environment and converts them into electrical pulses. the pulses are transmitted to the cochlea through a small electrode implanted package, creating a sense of its that the user learns to associate average and high frequency sounds they remember. the part of the hearing aid device is inserted into the external auditory canal like a conventional hearing aid can amplify and sounds in the low frequency range.
The implant is manufactured by Cochlear Ltd., headquartered in New South Wales, Australia.
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