Prosthetic reconstruction from the tympanic membrane to the stapes head or to the stapes footplate? A laser Doppler study.

Background: In the absence of the incus, many surgeons believe that reconstruction from the tympanic membrane to the stapes head is more effective than reconstruction to the stapes footplate. This has rarely been tested empirically. Published better clinical results with reconstruction to the stapes head might simply reflect less underlying disease in ears with an intact stapes superstructure.

Effect of Silastic sheeting over the round window niche on sound transmission in the intact human middle ear.

Background: Silastic sheeting is commonly used in middle ear surgery to prevent the formation of adhesions between the tympanic membrane and the medial bony wall of the middle ear cavity. This sheeting is often placed, advertently or inadvertently, so as to cover the round window niche. The effects of mechanically shielding the round window niche in the presence of an intact tympanic membrane and ossicular chain have not been empirically studied to date.

Linearity and lever ratio of the normal and reconstructed cadaveric human middle ear.

Hypothesis: The linearity and the level ratio are different in reconstructed ears.

Background: The linearity of the reconstructed human middle ear (ME) has not been previously explored. It is important to analyze if high sound pressure levels (SPLs) result in distortion due to nonlinearities particularly because hearing aids have high-output SPLs.