Objective: To describe a technique enabling the intraoperative assessment of the mechanical coupling of active middle ear implants in patients with normal or dysfunctional middle ears.
Patients: Patients with sensorineural or mixed hearing loss subjected to revision surgery of an active middle ear implant.
Intervention: Recording of compound action potentials (CAPs) of the auditory nerve in response to stimulation via an active middle ear implant during revision surgery.
Main outcome measures: CAP thresholds as a measure of mechanical coupling and system integrity.
Conclusion: Determining CAP thresholds may be suitable for identifying a proper mechanical coupling of active middle ear implants in patients with a dysfunctional middle ear, even if the ossicular chain is disrupted.