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Sound transmission by cartilage conduction in ear with fibrotic aural atresia. Chihiro Morimoto, MD; Tadashi Nishimura, MD, PhD; Hiroshi Hosoi, MD, PhD; Osamu Saito; Fumi Fukuda; Ryota Shimokura, PhD; Toshiaki Yamanaka, MD, PhD. Aim
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Sound transmission by cartilage conduction in ear with fibrotic aural atresia Chihiro Morimoto, MD; Tadashi Nishimura, MD, PhD; Hiroshi Hosoi, MD, PhD; Osamu Saito; Fumi Fukuda; Ryota Shimokura, PhD; Toshiaki Yamanaka, MD, PhD
Aim • Test proposed hearing aid using cartilage conduction (CC) as alternative to bone conduction (BC). • Relevance • Transducer developed for this application: • Lightweight. • Requires much smaller fixation force than BC. • More convenient to use. • CC can benefit patients with fibrotic aural atresia. • Fibrotic tissue connected to ossicles provides additional pathway for sound to reach cochlea via CC.
Method • Measured BC and CC thresholds in 6 ears with fibrotic aural atresia. • Investigated relationship between CC thresholds and results of computed tomography.
Results • In ears with fibrotic tissue pathway: • CC thresholds were lower than BC thresholds at 0.5 and 1.0 kHz. • At 2.0 kHz: • No significant difference between BC and CC thresholds.
Conclusion • Findings suggest that sound in low to middle frequency range is transmitted more efficiently by CC via fibrotic tissue pathway than BC. • Hearing devices using CC can aid rehabilitation, particularly in patients with fibrotic aural atresia.