Hearing impairment - technological advances and insights.

BACKGROUND

The treatment of hearing impairment is rapidly evolving. Despite this, a significant number of adults with hearing impairment receive inadequate treatment or rehabilitation, resulting in functional impairment and social isolation.

OBJECTIVE

This article outlines the available options and recent advances in the treatment of hearing impairment.

DISCUSSION: Severe to profoundly hearing impaired individuals of any age, including infants and geriatric patients, are now considered as candidates for cochlear implant surgery, rather than only the profoundly hearing impaired. Until recently, cochlear implant surgery led to the loss of all natural hearing in the implanted ear, but emerging technology now provides the potential for combining natural hearing and cochlear implant function within the same ear. There is now recognition of the need to treat both ears, combining two cochlear implants and/or hearing aids. Treatment options for conductive and less severe sensorineural hearing loss have expanded, with the osseo-integrated hearing prosthesis providing new alternatives for individuals with microtia and canal atresia, single sided deafness, or when corrective surgery or a hearing aid are problematic.