Florida Hospital Celebration Health (see more articles like this)

Celebration, FL – The final phase of a three-part implantable hearing device called “Vibrant Soundbridge” will take place at Florida Hospital Celebration Health on December 11, 2001 at 9 a.m. allowing the patient, Mr. John Litsinger, to hear clearly for the first time in more than six years, which he says is “the best holiday gift ever!”

Designed to vibrate the small bones in the middle ear, Vibrant Soundbridge is not a hearing aid; but rather the first implantable middle ear hearing device to receive FDA approval.

Done in a three-part series, the first step requires implanting the device into the middle ear, which is a one-hour outpatient procedure; the second step is fitting the patient with the external audio processor; and the third step is activating the device thus allowing the patient to regain their hearing.

Now at his last phase in this three-part series, Mr. Litsinger will have the device activated allowing him to hear for the first time since he abruptly and unexplainably lost his hearing one day in 1995. Longing to hear the voices of his grandchildren, Litsinger says that “it is a lonely world without your hearing.”

Vibrant Soundbridge Fact Sheet

• Approximately 10 percent of Americans, or 28 million people, suffer from hearing loss, but 80 percent of those people can’t or don’t want to wear hearing aids.
• Untreated, hearing loss costs the U.S. $56 billion annually in lost productivity, medical care, and special education programs.
• Vibrant Soundbridge is not a hearing aid – it is the first implantable middle ear hearing device to receive FDA approval.
• The implantable portion of Soundbridge is the size of a grain of rice.
• Many patients report that they like the Vibrant Soundbridge because it avoids problems commonly associated with hearing aids including blocked ear canals, feedback, background noise, poor sound quality, and uncomfortable fit.
• The difference between Cochlear implants and Soundbridge is that Cochlear implants are for individuals with severe to profound hearing loss. They electronically stimulate the inner ear through a series of electrodes implanted in the cochlea. In contrast, Soundbridge works by directly vibrating the ossicles in the middle ear; therefore, providing an enhanced signal to the inner ear.

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