Children with atresia (where ear canals do not develop), and other conditions that prohibit the use of conventional hearing aids and ear molds, can benefit from devices placed on the mastoid bone behind the ear. This type of device causes vibration of the inner ear, stimulating the hair cells of the cochlea without going through the middle ear as hearing aids do.
MESIARC provides bone-anchored hearing aids which are surgically implanted abutment to transmit sound by direct conduction through bone to the inner ear, bypassing the external auditory canal and middle ear. A titanium prosthesis is surgically embedded into the skull with a small abutment exposed outside the skin. A sound processor sits on this abutment and transmits sound vibrations to the titanium implant. The implant vibrates the skull and inner ear, which stimulate the nerve fibers of the inner ear, allowing hearing.
The titanium fixture bonds with the surrounding bone in a process called osseointegration. The sound processor can be attached and used once osseointegration is complete, usually two to six months after implantation.
Both Cochlear and Oticon Medical’s Baha in collaboration with MESIARC offer bone conduction hearing solutions via a bone-anchored sound processor that converts incoming sound into vibrations. Cochlear Baha utilizes a snap-lock coupling which allows them to clip onto the implanted abutment, The Oticon Ponto uses a spring based coupling. The sound processor units run on small circular batteries which last approx 6 to 14 days. The coupling is designed to detach upon impact as a safety feature to prevent damage to the bone or surrounding tissues.