Long-Term Outcome With an Active Middle Ear Implant in Patients to Bilateral Aural Atresia

OBJECTIVE To describe the audiological results and complications following active middle ear implant (AMEI) surgery in users with bilateral ear atresia. STUDY DESIGN Observational and retrospective longitudinal follow-up. SETTING A tertiary referral hospital for hearing rehabilitation and craniofacial malformations. PATIENTS Medical records of 27 patients with bilateral congenital aural atresia (34 ears) who underwent surgery for AMEI were reviewed. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The alpha error was assumed to be 5%. OUTCOME MEASURES Medical and technical complications and audiological results were observed during follow-up. RESULTS The median postoperative follow-up was 37.5 months (27.7-75.5 mo). Medical or technical complications occurred in 35.3% (n = 12) of patients during follow-up, 14.7% (n = 5) required surgical revision. The auditory thresholds in the free field improved from 53.75 dB (46.87-56.25) to 25 dB (21.25-32.5) after 6 months using the AMEI (p