I'm sorry to hear that you received this disappointing news.
Here is an article which explains what an Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) is as well as its potential benefits:
Auditory Brainstem Implant Fact Sheet
AUDITORY BRAINSTEM IMPLANT (ABI)
DESCRIPTION
OF ABI:
The Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) is a prosthetic device intended to restore some degree of hearing function to persons deafened by bilateral vestibular schwannomas (tumors on both balance nerves). The ABI is the first device specifically designed to bypass the cochlea and the auditory nerve to transmit sound directly to the brainstem. The ABI is placed directly on the nerve center (cochlear nucleus) at the base of the brain, typically during surgery to remove tumors. After implantation, patients work with audiologists to test and adjust their wearable sound processors as they learn to understand and interpret new sounds. This process is called “mapping.” Since its initial development at the House Ear Institute in 1979, the ABI has been implanted in more than 500 people worldwide. It received FDA-approval as a medical device in 2000, and is the only device that can restore limited hearing to people who have no remaining auditory nerves.
POTENTIAL
BENEFITS
OF ABI:
Most ABI recipients benefit from the device through increased sound awareness. Because few ABI recipients are able to understand speech without lip-reading, the level of performance achieved with the ABI is poorer than that obtained by people with a cochlear implant (CI). However, the environmental and speech sounds that patients receive through the ABI help significantly to improve their communication and quality of life. ABI sound always is most beneficial when it can be combined with lip-reading cues.
CANDIDACY
FOR ABI:
The ABI is designed primarily for patients suffering from Neurofibromatosis Type II (NF2),* a hereditary disease that can cause profound hearing loss through the growth of bilateral tumors on the balance nerves. Because the balance nerves are adjacent to the auditory (and facial) nerves, tumor removal typically necessitates severing the auditory nerve. A cochlear implant cannot be used for these patients because the auditory nerve, once severed, is not able to carry signals from the cochlea to the cochlear nucleus in the brainstem. (*There are rare cases of bilateral absence of the cochlear nerve or bilateral damage to the cochlear nerve from accidents, where an ABI also might be beneficial.)
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT:
The Department of Auditory Implants and Perception (DAIP) at the House Ear Institute strives to understand and improve auditory prosthetic devices, including cochlear implants and brainstem implants, and to use implants as a tool to understand normal auditory and speech processes. In addition to organizing professional conferences on these topics, the DAIP conducts multiple research projects that include clinical studies of the ABI, an investigative research trial of the penetrating auditory brainstem implant (ABI), frequency mapping of the cochlear implant, training effects in cochlear implants, speech pattern perception, and computer assisted speech training (CAST) for cochlear implant users – tech transfer.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Christa Spieth Nuber
Media Relations and Communications Dept.
House Ear Institute (HEI)
Phone: (213) 273-8027, Fax: (213) 483-8789
E-mail:
newsmedia@hei.org
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