| Middle Ear Implants
In order to be fit with a MEI (or a binaural fitting), one requires a purely sensori-neural hearing loss. Since MEIs are better at generating mid- and high-frequency gain than low-frequency gain, the optimal hearing loss should be sloping. Many MEIs can be digitally programmed or are in fact digital. With the extra control that these technologies afford, other sensori-neural configurations can be fit. I would doubt if any new hearing aid users would be MEI candidates. Although the various surgeries are not complicated, they can be lengthy (up to 3 hours) and like any surgery, can be traumatic. A MEI candidate is therefore one who has tried conventional hearing aids and was unsuccessful either because (i) they were not able to obtain as much high-freuency amplification as required, or because (ii) the occlusion effect (Vagal response) could not be resolved to the satisfaction of the patient. While the cosmetic issue is important, I am not convinced that this should be the primary deciding factor, given that CIC hearing aids can be made quite small with newer technology. |