Professor László Rovó, head of department at the clinic, says the surgery is pioneering in Europe because a hearing aid has been implanted into the cranial bone in such a way that a magnetic docking unit (which is entirely covered by skin) can connect to an outside speech processor. The new technique can be used especially for those patients that cannot benefit from traditional hearing aids.

It is a precondition for such surgery that the inner ear must be functional but for some reason vibrations do not reach it. The implanted device transmits the mechanical vibrations through the cranial bone. With that technique there is no need for a connecting clamp that pierces the skin, which means the device is almost unnoticeable. The device can also be used while the patient is swimming or bathing.

The surgery in Szeged was carried out on a 74-year-old woman who has mixed hearing impairment of medium seriousness on one ear. During the surgery an incision of a depth of about 5 cm had to be made. The device can be implanted in about a month’s time, after the wound has healed. Rovó is convinced that the device can fully restore the client’s hearing.

Tibor Terman, managing director of Amplifon Magyarország Kft. that distributes this device has told the Hungarian News Agency that the novel hearing aid that comes with a magnetic docking unit is expected to be introduced into the market in the beginning of 2014. It is already in use in some select clinics of the world.

In Hungary such a surgery can be made on 200 to 250 persons yearly. The Hungarian health insurance fund will cover the costs of such an operation.

Translated by Budapest Telegraph

Source: Magyar Nemzet