Electromagnetic ossicular augmentation device.

Conventional hearing aids have a number of limitations inherent to amplifying sound in the narrow confines of the external auditory canal. Disadvantages include acoustic feedback, poor fidelity, and the stigmata of aging. Since 1986, Michigan Ear Institute and Smith and Nephew Richards Company have been investigating the feasibility of a new device that converts sound to an electromagnetic field. The efficacy and safety of electromagnetic-induced hearing was sufficient enough to have the Federal Food and Drug Administration approve a pilot study of ten patients with a sensorineural hearing loss in whom a target magnet is implanted beneath the tympanic membrane. A status report of this study and a review of our preceeding investigations are presented in this article.