[How to create a self-cleaning open mastoid cavity].

Our experience from multiple open mastoid cavity revisions is that some of the well-proven techniques to create a self-cleaning small open cavity are not anymore practiced everywhere.The crucial steps are to considerably drill down the facial ridge, as well as the lateral bone (to the level of the sigmoid sinus) and - in cases of a well pneumatized mastoid - to ground down the mastoid tip. The bony rims should be smoothened with a diamond burr.

[Cold deformation elements for attaching an implantable hearing aid transducer to ear ossicles or perilymph].

Development and short-term implantation results of the Tübingen implantable hearing aid (TI = Tübingen implant) have been presented. The TI is designed for patients with sensorineural hearing loss due to a malfunction of the cochlear amplifier. This can be identified by the presence of positive recruitment and the absence of TEOAE (transitory evoked otoacoustic emissions).

[Ossicular coupling of an implantable hearing aid transducer using an Er:YAG laser].

Special coupling devices made of pure gold or titanium have been developed to connect a new implantable hearing aid transducer (Tübingen implant) to the ossicular chain. They allow piezotransducer probe-tip connection to the long process of the incus or the stapedial head. Similar to the design of conventional PORPs (partial ossicular replacement prostheses), the coupling devices can be fixed at the ossicular chain, e.