First results of chronic electrical stimulation with a round-window electrode in totally deaf patients.

A few patients who had become totally deaf in adulthood were chronically implanted with an electrode on the round window. Elicitable auditory sensations were limited but proved beneficial enough for a small portable stimulator to be suggested for everyday use. Over a period of several months subjects were monitored several times for a few days at the laboratory and trained to make better use of their prosthesis. Such a device appears safe and patients have become attached to its use. One subject suffering from tinnitus was also given another stimulator delivering positive direct current which suppresses the tinnitus.