THE EFFECT OF IMPLANTABLE TRANSDUCERS ON MIDDLE EAR TRANSFER FUNCTION — A COMPARATIVE NUMERICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Several types of middle ear implants (MEIs) have been invented as an alternative to conventional hearing aids for the rehabilitation of sensorineural hearing loss. Temporal bone and clinical studies have shown that the implantation of MEIs’ transducers influences middle ear transfer function. But there is little comparative data available about these influences. We conducted comparative studies on the influences of three principal types of MEI transducers in respect to their attachment points on the ossicular chain. To aid the investigation, a human middle ear finite element model was constructed. The model was built based on a complete set of micro-computerized tomography section images of a human ear by reverse engineering technology. The validity of the developed model was verified by comparing the motions obtained by this model with published experimental measurements on human temporal bones. The results show that the eardrum driving transducer (EDT) and the floating mass transducer (FMT) decrease stapes displacement prominently at high frequencies. The greater these transducers’ mass, the smaller is the displacement of the stapes footplate. In contrast, the incus body driving transducer (IBDT) decreases stapes displacement severely at low frequencies, and its adverse effect on residual hearing increases with increasing stiffness of the IBDT’s driving rod.