Description:
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Objective:</jats:title>
<jats:p>The efficiency of vibroplasty (coupler-floating mass transducer [FMT] assembly) can be monitored by direct stimulation of the inner ear through the active middle-ear implant system and comparison of the vibroplasty in vivo threshold and the postoperative bone-conduction pure-tone threshold. The aim of this study was to compare the vibroplasty in vivo threshold with the postoperative speech recognition in patients with a high preoperative maximum word recognition score.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Study Design:</jats:title>
<jats:p>Retrospective cohort study of German-speaking patients implanted with a vibrating ossicular prosthesis (VORP) 502 or VORP 503 and high preoperative maximum word recognition score between the years of 2011 and 2015.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Setting:</jats:title>
<jats:p>Multicenter study of four German centers.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Patients:</jats:title>
<jats:p>Twenty-three active middle-ear implant users.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Intervention:</jats:title>
<jats:p>Rehabilitative.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Main Outcome Measures:</jats:title>
<jats:p>Bone-conduction pure-tone and vibroplasty thresholds, postoperative aided word recognition score (WRS) at 65 dB SPL (sound pressure level) and preoperative maximum WRS with Freiburg monosyllabic words.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Results:</jats:title>
<jats:p>The mean postoperative aided WRS at 65 dB SPL was 82%. An increasing difference between vibroplasty thresholds and bone-conduction thresholds was associated with a higher discrepancy between the unaided maximum WRS and the postoperative aided WRS. Only if this difference was less than 20 dB, an articulation index of 0.5 (WRS = 75%) or more was achieved.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Conclusions:</jats:title>
<jats:p>Audiological outcome after vibroplasty depends on the coupling efficiency reflected by the vibroplasty threshold.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>