Histologic evaluation of temporal bones with cochlear implants.

Ectopic bone in the scala tympani is characteristic of cochlear otosclerosis and meningitis, which are the two most frequent etiologies of deafness in cochlear implant patients. The ectopic bone in a multiple-electrode implanted bone is probably caused by disease (syphilis) rather than by the electrode or electrical stimulation. The sensory elements being stimulated by intracochlear electrodes probably are the ganglion cells.