Introduction:
For some time now a promontory stimulation system system from Medel has been available with placement of the electrode on the round window (RW) niche. To date, this method has been used only for diagnostic purposes in CI candidates in local anesthesia. The aim of this study is to determine the status of the cochlea, the auditory pathway and the threshold of hearing by the intraoperative application of this method in tympanoscopy after acute deafness.
Methods:
Subjects of the study will be 5 patients with acute deafness. For these reasons, a tympanoscopy is performed. As part of the operation, an electrode with a rounded and curved tip is also temporarily placed on the round window niches. Electrical stimulation is provided by the MED-EL PromStim system and analyzed by MED-EL Maestro clinical software.
Results:
In this study prospective intraoperative eABR of patients with acute deafness is evaluated.
Discussion:
Tympanoscopy is indicated as a therapy attempt to improve hearing and as a diagnostic method in the case of drug-conservative/conservative therapy-resistant acute deafness. Critical voices doubt the reliability of the tests and the effect on the hearing. However, placement of the electrode on the RW niche could play an important role in the effectiveness of the electrical stimulation delivery. The results could provide important diagnostic information and could be used as a potential predictor of prognosis in patients with acute deafness. For CI users, the same system can also record the eABRs with a CI electrode array. Thus, the hearing can be compared to the electrical response before and after implantation.
