Data From Experimental Hybrid Cochlear Implant Study

An article in the January 29 Seattle Post-Intelligencer provides clinical data about the FDA approved study of hybrid cochlear implants. Developed at the University of Iowa, the hybrid cochlear implant is designed to restore hearing loss without destroying residual hearing.

Of the 90 patients implanted with the new device, three have been removed after patients lost hearing between three months to two years after surgery and weren't happy with the results, Gantz said. Six patients lost hearing, but are using hearing aids with the implant and still hear better than they did before surgery, he said. In most patients, the surgery has been successful, with a patient's average word understanding increasing from 20 percent to more than 70 percent after having the implant for a year.