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Round window electromagnetic implantable hearing aid

  • US 5,360,388 A
  • Filed: 10/09/1992
  • Issued: 11/01/1994
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/09/1992
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method for enhancing hearing by artificially vibrating inner portions of the ear in order to stimulate the sensory nerves which enable an individual to hear sound, comprising the steps of:

  • placing a fixed transmitting means at a location remote from a first pathway used for normal acoustic hearing, said first pathway including the individual'"'"'s ear canal, eardrum, ossicular chain and oval window of the cochlea;

    attaching a vibrational means to the round window of the cochlea in the inner ear of the individual; and

    vibrating the cochlea through the round window using a second alternate pathway such that the first pathway for normal acoustic hearing is free of any artificial devices and electromagnetic waves are output by said fixed transmitting means and reach said vibrational means via a second alternate pathway to the cochlea located at a location remote from said first pathway, thereby providing two separate pathways for vibrations to be transmitted to the cochlea.

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