II. Implantable Hearing Aids

advances and functional and cosmetic improvements in conventional hearing aids notwithstanding, there are still individuals for whom alternative amplification schemes are desirable. Patients generally fitted with bone-conduction hearing aids, eg, those with irreparable aural atresia, unremitting otorrhea, earmold allergy, or conductive losses not amenable to surgery, have difficulty with the pressure, poor fidelity, and unattractive appearance of these devices. Patients capable of wearing conventional air-conduction hearing aids contend with sound distortion, feedback, canal occlusion, tight earmolds, and poor cosmetic appearance.1 A number of implantable hearing devices are in varying stages of development in an effort to overcome some of the limitations associated with conventional hearing aids.