OPS-Code 5-209.31:

You had a hearing implant fitted into the skull bone behind your ear.

The ear is a sensory organ that is used to hear and to maintain one’s balance. There are 3 different areas in the ear: the outer ear, middle ear and inner ear.The middle ear begins behind the eardrum. It consists of the air-filled tympanic cavity and the 3 ossicles.

Noise and sounds reach the ears in the form of sound waves. Normally, most of these sound waves are passed on by the middle ear to the inner ear in the form of vibrations. However, some vibrations are also passed on to the inner ear from the skull bone. In the inner ear, the sensory hearing cells convert the vibrations into electrical signals. These signals then pass via the auditory nerve to the brain, where they are perceived and processed.

Some hearing devices transmit sounds directly to the skull bone in the form of vibrations. These devices consist of several parts. The hearing device itself (the processor) is positioned externally on the head and sits behind the ear. The hearing device takes in sounds and passes them on to the hearing implant in the form of vibrations. The hearing implant is fixed permanently behind the ear and transmits the vibrations directly to the skull bone. These vibrations are then passed from the bone into the inner ear, as in normal hearing. A magnet or connecting piece allows the external hearing device to be placed on top of the hearing implant. This type of connecting piece protrudes through the scalp behind the ear.

Hearing implants are surgically fitted. An incision is made in the scalp behind the ear for this purpose. The hearing implant is then anchored behind the ear in the form of a screw embedded in the skull bone. A connecting piece is then attached to this hearing implant.