Vibrant® Soundbridge

Ephesians2_8

Ephesians2_8

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SOUNDBRIDGE TECHNOLOGY

The Vibrant® Soundbridge® is a new category of implantable middle ear hearing device. The Soundbridge is an implant that directly vibrates the small bones in the middle ear. It is the first implantable middle ear hearing device approved by the FDA as a safe and effective treatment option for adults with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss who desire an alternative to acoustic hearing aids.

In this section, you can find out about the Soundbridge technology, technical information, clinical results, and additional resources available to you and your patients.

Please select topics from the menu to the left, below the Spotlight on the Soundbridge, to read more about the Vibrant Soundbridge treatment for sensorineural hearing loss. VIBRANT - MEDEL

Have anyone heard of this?
 
No, I have not. I have heard of another one that starts with an "E" but I can't recall the name. Maybe "Envoy"? Anybody?
 
sr171soars said:
No, I have not. I have heard of another one that starts with an "E" but I can't recall the name. Maybe "Envoy"? Anybody?
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Yes Envoy, in clinical trials at this time. no external equiptment to wear, just a remote to turn it on and off, raise/lower vol, change programs (it does have more then one) etc...it is kinda a clunky remote tho.

The battery will last about 5 yrs and then need to be changed. My daughter is in the trial. It's intereesting to find out what goes on. :) Hopefully theyll iron out the bugs and it will become more available. I think it's a cool technology, even tho the implant under the skin is hugh compared to the CI implant. :) But then I have to assume that the first CI implants weren't quite as small (thin) as those we get today?
 
Awhile back, My audiologist used to tell me about an reversible cochlear inplant. I used to have a website for it, but I lost it. Now I can't find it on the web. I didn't know about implants at that time and didn't pay attention to what type of implant it was. Now I think about it, I guess it was middle ear implant.

does anyone know?
 
Vibrant is a middle ear implant not a cochlear implant.

and it is geared toward those with mild loss or middle ear issues with cochlea fully intact (no damage to cochlea)

not ideal for deaf folks like us with greater than mild to profound sensorineural loss (sensorineural = damage to inner ear so inner ear = cochlea)

By the way, I believe I have seen few threads regarding this in AD way back... (try search option :D )
 
yeah, I noticed. Just wanted to be informed because I know several people with mild hearing loss like my aunt.

But I am still looking for what my audiologist recommended a few years back. It is cochlear implant that will not damage your ears.
 
well there were one but I guess fell out and may not go ahead.

Here in USA, there is three major cochlear implant maker, Cochlear, Advanced Bionics, Med-EL


and Med-EL was the one that was involved in developing a totally implantable cochlear implant without needing a external device.
 
jag said:
Yes Envoy, in clinical trials at this time. no external equiptment to wear, just a remote to turn it on and off, raise/lower vol, change programs (it does have more then one) etc...it is kinda a clunky remote tho.

The battery will last about 5 yrs and then need to be changed. My daughter is in the trial. It's intereesting to find out what goes on. :) Hopefully theyll iron out the bugs and it will become more available. I think it's a cool technology, even tho the implant under the skin is hugh compared to the CI implant. :) But then I have to assume that the first CI implants weren't quite as small (thin) as those we get today?
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and that is a middle ear implant too... not for sale in USA yet and also not FDA approved yet either.

Envoy Device Implantable hearing aids - Sensorineural Hearing Loss, Hearing Impaired
 
Ephesians2_8 said:
yeah, I noticed. Just wanted to be informed because I know several people with mild hearing loss like my aunt.

But I am still looking for what my audiologist recommended a few years back. It is cochlear implant that will not damage your ears.
Click to expand...

Could your audi have been referring to a "hybrid cochlear implant?" The Hybrid is designed for people with good low frequency hearing and moderate to severe hearing loss in the high frequencies. From what I understand, the Hybrid consists of a shorter electrode array (compared to a CI) and thus will not destroy a person's low frequency hearing. People who receive the Hybrid have a speech processor and magnet that look very similar to a CI, but also wear an ITE (in-the-ear) hearing aid as well to further enhance low frequencies.

You should be able to find more information about the Hybrid cochlear implant by doing a Google search for "Hybrid cochlear implant" or Hybrid CI."
 
Boult said:
and Med-EL was the one that was involved in developing a totally implantable cochlear implant without needing a external device.
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Wow - how would a thing like that be powered without batteries?
 
R2D2 said:
Wow - how would a thing like that be powered without batteries?
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no, it is not powered without batteries. There will be batteries inside the device being implanted underneath the skin behind the ear (same place where the current implant reside.) and it is rechargeable and is expected to last longer than the rechargeable BTE batteries. To Recharge, one would attache a headpiece hooked up to recharger and it will recharge the implant's battery :)

So one would hear under and above the water while swimming eh.
even in shower or in bed or anywhere else that we were limited to wear in.
 
Boult said:
no, it is not powered without batteries. There will be batteries inside the device being implanted underneath the skin behind the ear (same place where the current implant reside.) and it is rechargeable and is expected to last longer than the rechargeable BTE batteries. To Recharge, one would attache a headpiece hooked up to recharger and it will recharge the implant's battery :)

So one would hear under and above the water while swimming eh.
even in shower or in bed or anywhere else that we were limited to wear in.
Click to expand...

Hmmm a bit of a strange concept recharging ourselves. I could just picture my husband wanting a smooch at night in bed and then me brushing him away and saying "I need to charge my batteries."

I'm not sure how I'd feel about having a battery under my skin too :eek3:
 
It won't be a long recharge more like a 1 to 2 hour recharge and it last for few weeks. Why? because current CI requires more charging power due to RF (Radio Frequency ie: wireless transmitting signals from bte to implant) so without need for RF constantly, the battery usage is increased.
Of course, it won't be same type of battery we use now (ie: ion lithium) it would be bio-compatiable type.

more info on this such future technology can be read here;
Implantable Cochlear Implants
2-gram battery recharge every about 2 weeks last 30 years

Bionic Ear Blog: Totally Implantable Cochlear Implant
Ahhh. I found the status of Epic Biosonoic's status!
Bionic Ear Blog: Epic Biosonics Inc. Writes
So it is shelved (I knew the plan to make one fell apart but wasn't sure about it)

Cochlear is known to be working on such one but I do not know what level they are at, at this moment. this interview with Cochlear might give a insight where they are at as of 2005: Interview with John Parker Ph.D, Chief Technology Officer and Director, Cochlear Limited – Australia

This site: Research Areas - Cochlear Implant Innovations shows that they are researching in many different areas related to CI as well as totally implantable.

two articles on Deaf Today website;
Deaf Today v3.0: ‘Totally Implantable Cochlear Implant Is The Future Of Cochlear Implant’
Deaf Today v3.0: Advances in cochlear implants

There are many more sites out there that talk about it.

However it will happen soon within a decade. I am sure that a nanotechnology will replace implantable CI probably in few decades later. That will eliminate the need for surgery. It probably would be injected into ear system and nano may act as cilia or perform some duties to make cochlear working like a normal cochlear possible at the earliest detection of loss (I mean during infant's hearing loss test) and nanotechnology itself can sustain itself during the lifetime of a human's life. OR probably till hair regeneration success takes hold...
 
Thanks for the links - very interesting! A concept like that would really work well for people in developing countries where the cost of batteries would be crippling unless you were wealthy.
 
R2D2 said:
Hmmm a bit of a strange concept recharging ourselves. I could just picture my husband wanting a smooch at night in bed and then me brushing him away and saying "I need to charge my batteries."

I'm not sure how I'd feel about having a battery under my skin too :eek3:
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LOL! >.< So funny.
 
Boult said:
and that is a middle ear implant too... not for sale in USA yet and also not FDA approved yet either.

Envoy Device Implantable hearing aids - Sensorineural Hearing Loss, Hearing Impaired
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Yes Boult it's still in the trial stage. My daugther has one implanted. The Envoy trial requirements are bi lateral sensioral neural (sp?) hearing loss mild to severe. Qualified canidates also have to have worn hearing aides for at least 6 months. The device is implanted in the middle ear as you state, unlike the Soundbridge there is no externally worn equiptment any changes are made by putting the control up near the device. I know that my daughter doesn't even carry the control, just turns it on in the morning and that's it. She is still working on the programming of it. I think it will be a great option if it works well enough for approval. Like the soundbridge the device uses the ears natural ablitly to process sound, unlike the soundbridge you don't have to attach something to your head for it to work. :) We live in some amazing times.
 
Hear Again said:
Could your audi have been referring to a "hybrid cochlear implant?" The Hybrid is designed for people with good low frequency hearing and moderate to severe hearing loss in the high frequencies. From what I understand, the Hybrid consists of a shorter electrode array (compared to a CI) and thus will not destroy a person's low frequency hearing. People who receive the Hybrid have a speech processor and magnet that look very similar to a CI, but also wear an ITE (in-the-ear) hearing aid as well to further enhance low frequencies.

You should be able to find more information about the Hybrid cochlear implant by doing a Google search for "Hybrid cochlear implant" or Hybrid CI."
Click to expand...

I don't think so. It was cochlear implant that if you decide that you don't like it, you still can go back to your hearing aids. I guess it didn't work out.
 
Ephesians2_8 said:
I don't think so. It was cochlear implant that if you decide that you don't like it, you still can go back to your hearing aids. I guess it didn't work out.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. This is the first I've heard of a cochlear implant that doesn't destroy one's residual hearing. (Actually, the literature for Cochlear's Freedom says that it has the capability of preserving one's residual hearing. I know two CI users whose residual hearing was retained after surgery.) If you find out what kind of a CI this is, I hope you'll post the information here. I'd be interested in learning more about it. :)
 
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