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Efficacy of the active middle-ear implant in patients with sensorineural hearing loss

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2013

C L Butler ,
P Thavaneswaran  and
I H Lee
C L Butler
Affiliation:
Australian Safety and Efficacy Register of New Interventional Procedures – Surgical, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
P Thavaneswaran*
Affiliation:
Australian Safety and Efficacy Register of New Interventional Procedures – Surgical, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
I H Lee
Affiliation:
Australian Safety and Efficacy Register of New Interventional Procedures – Surgical, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Prema Thavaneswaran, ASERNIP-S, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, 199 Ward Street, North Adelaide, SA, Australia5006 Fax: +61 8 8219 0999 E-mail: asernips@surgeons.org
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Abstract

Introduction:

This systematic review aims to advise on the effectiveness of the active middle-ear implant in patients with sensorineural hearing loss, compared with external hearing aids.

Methods:

A systematic search of several electronic databases, including PubMed and Embase, was used to identify relevant studies for inclusion.

Results:

Fourteen comparative studies were included. Nine studies reported on the primary outcome of functional gain: one found that the middle-ear implant was significantly better than external hearing aids (p < 0.001), while another found that external hearing aids were generally significantly better than middle-ear implants (p < 0.05). Six of the seven remaining studies found that middle-ear implants were better than external hearing aids, although generally no clinically significant difference (i.e. ≥10 dB) was seen.

Conclusion:

Generally, the active middle-ear implant appears to be as effective as the external hearing aid in improving hearing outcomes in patients with sensorineural hearing loss.

Keywords

Ear, MiddleOssicular ProsthesisHearing AidsHearing LossReview
Type
Review Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 127 , Supplement S2 , July 2013 , pp. S8 - S16
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2013 

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