In vivo measurements of contralateral crosstalk in fully implantable hearing systems

Introduction Recipients of hearing implants such as cochlea implants or active middle ear implants (AMEI) are often contralaterally treated with a conventional hearing aid. These are capable of delivering amplified sound exceeding 100 dB SPL into the ear canal. Development of fully implantable devices must take into account a possible crosstalk between the contralateral hearing aid and the implanted microphone. At our clinic, nearly 50 patients were recently implanted with a CARINA fully implantable AMEI – a rare opportunity to study the sound transmission through the skull with an implanted sensor in vivo.