Are implantable hearing devices really necessary?

Indications, advantages and disadvantages of different types of bone-anchored hearing aids and middle ear implants are discussed and compared with conventional hearing devices. The hearing results obtained at the University of Würzburg in 4,195 middle ear surgeries, from January 1988-August 1993, are presented. In those cases where tympanoplasty wasn't able to provide a good hearing result, the additional use of a conventional hearing aid was sufficient. If the gain and maximum output of the implantable hearing aid is improved in the future, the implant may be able to provide intelligible hearing also to patients with a profound sensorineural hearing loss. At this point implantable hearing aids will become really necessary, irreplaceable devices.