There are many different types of implantable devices now available to assist with different types of hearing loss. The specific cause of the hearing loss determines what type of device would be suitable. New technology is providing patients with more options for amplification, even those who could not benefit from hearing aides in the past.

Bone Anchored Hearing Aide BAHA
This device has been used for over ten years in Europe and is now available in the United States. Patients who would benefit from the BAHA include patients who are deaf in one ear, also patients who have certain types of conductive hearing loss, i.e. after mastoid surgery. The external device transmits sound through an implanted titanium post directly to the nerve of hearing by passing the normal bones of hearing.

Implanted Middle Ear Hearing Aides
Implantable middle hearing aides have been in the news intermittently and we have followed these developments. Several different technologies have been tried, however none has clearly emerged as a reliable option.

There are other types of implantable devices that include prostheses made of titanium to replace bones of hearing in the middle ear. A cochlear implant is for a patient who is completely deaf and replaces the actual sensory endings of the nerve of hearing.