Technical evaluation of a middle ear-based implant for tinnitus suppression

Tinnitus is the subjective perception of a sound without external sound source. Cochlear implant users usually report implant-induced suppression of their preoperative tinnitus. However, tinnitus suppression by electrical stimulation in the middle ear of normally hearing patients has not yet been realized. Within the INTAKT project, middle ear-based implants should be developed and evaluated in an animal model to suppress the tinnitus using electrical stimulation.

The stimulations of middle ear structures were initially performed with commercially available promontorial electrodes. In parallel, the required geometric and mechanical properties of the electrode contacts for the round window electrode were defined and initial implantation tests were carried out. For this, various materials (polyimide (PI) foil, gold wire) were selected and compared.

The amplitude of the electrically induced early potentials using promontory electrode, measured by means of ABR (auditory brainstem response), were determined by stimulation intensity and pulse width. These electrophysiological results now serve as a reference for the evaluation of newly designed INTAKT-electrodes.

PI-based electrode delivery was very flexible in one direction, but due to their linear shape, they were difficult to fix in the middle ear. In contrast, the wire-based electrode was allowed an stable fixation.

In the next steps, gold-wire-based electrodes will be manufactured based on the design specifications and initial electrophysiological measurements will be carried out.

Gefördert durch das BMBF, Netzwerk INTAKT

Poster-PDF A-1475.PDF

Publication History

Article published online:
10 June 2020