Ongoing investigations into an implantable electromagnetic hearing aid for moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss.

Over 20 million Americans have a hearing loss that produces problems in communication. The majority of these hearing-impaired individuals would benefit from conventional hearing aids, yet only about 15% use amplification devices. Many of the reasons for the lack of use of conventional hearing aids can be resolved by an implantable middle ear device directly coupled to the ossicular chain. This article presents the advantages of the implantable middle ear device.