Vibration- Acoustic Stimulation a New Approach for the Treatment of Hearing Loss

Bone Conduction Hearing aids are used mainly for the treatment of patients who suffer from Single Sided deafness and/or patients who suffer from Conductive/ mixed hearing loss but not patients who suffer from Bilateral Sensorineural hearing loss. Vibration Acoustic Stimulation is a combination of both air and bone conduction hearing aids at the same time, four hearing aids, two air conduction and two bone conduction for both ears for patients who suffer from bilateral hearing loss and one bone and one air conduction hearing aid, two hearing aids on defective ear for patients who suffer from single sided deafness (SSD) and/or Unilateral Hearing Loss. We have tried this approach to see if the patients could hear better the speech in noise compared to air conduction stimulation only.

Keywords:Sensorineural hearing loss; Bone conduction hearing aids; Baha; Piezoelectric stimulation; Mixed hearing loss; Single side deafness; Tinnitus

Abbreviations:Backward Auditory Input pathways of Sound Hypothesis; Forward Auditory Input pathway of sound; Melanin; Melanocytes; Neuromelanin; QuickSIN test; Vibration Acoustic Stimulation; Optogenetic Cochlear Implant; Pupil dilation