Breakthrough procedure for hearing loss
Specialist implant uses bone from patient’s ribs
A Scot has become one of the first people in the UK to undergo a breakthrough procedure to treat hearing loss.
The Bonebridge implant is so light, it’s practically weightless. It’s tailored to most closely match my normal hearing range
Brian Hogg, 29, from Edinburgh, was fitted with a specialist Bonebridge implant and given a reconstructed ear using bone from one of his ribs in December last year.
Medics at NHS Lothian fitted the Bonebridge device – a “bone conduction middle ear implant” which mimics the actions of the eardrum – at the city’s Lauriston Building.
The innovative device is fitted within the ear and is used when a patient is unable to have a conventional external hearing aid.
The procedure was performed by Alex Bennett, an ear, nose and throat consultant at the Health Board.
He said: “This is a truly innov-ative procedure and I’m sure the device will make a significant difference to Brian and many other patients like him.
“The Bonebridge implant is intended to improve hearing by replicating the actions of the eardrum.
“A discreet audio processor, which is attached to the patient’s head, picks up sound waves which are then amplified by the implant and passed to the inner ear through the skull bone. These sound waves are then interpreted by the brain as sound.”
Hogg was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting the development of the head and neck.
It means he cannot wear conventional hearing aids which are styled to fit in and around the top and middle of the ear.
Hogg said that since under-going surgery, he has noticed a big difference in the range of sounds he can hear.
During the operation his right ear was reconstructed with the use of bone taken from one of his ribs.
“The sound quality is much better and I can hear noises at a distance now.
“My previous device did not pick them up,” he said.
“The Bonebridge implant is so light, it’s practically weightless. It’s tailored to most closely match my normal hearing range.
“When you think about how far mobile phone technology has come in the last 10 years, there have been similar advances in hearing aids.
“The new implant is a really big step forward in technology.
“I’m very grateful to the team of consultants for fitting the implant for me.”
NHS Lothian said Hogg was the first person in the UK to receive the Bonebridge implant.
A similar procedure was also reported to have been carried out in Manchester in the same month.
The implant is designed by MED-EL.
Managing Director Ingeborg Hochmair said: “Our innovative development of the Bonebridge will considerably improve the lives of patients.
“We consider this new deve-lopment a great success.
“The Bonebridge is really the culmination of decades of experience gathered in the development of hearing implant solutions.”