OPS-Code 5-209.e0:

You had a hearing implant fitted in 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 from the environment reach our ears as sound waves. When the sound waves meet the eardrum, they make it vibrate. These vibrations are transmitted via the ossicles to the cochlea, getting amplified in the process. In the cochlea the sensory cells convert the vibrations to electrical signals. These signals then pass via the auditory nerve to the brain, where they are perceived and processed.

A hearing implant is a special hearing device that is surgically fitted in the ear. A hearing implant consists of several parts. The external part takes in sounds in the form of sound waves. This part of the hearing implant is normally fitted externally or under the skin on the side of the head. This part may also be attached directly to the eardrum. Another part converts the sound waves into electrical signals. This part is located below the scalp behind the ear. An electrode lead transmits the electrical signals to the final part of the hearing device. This part is permanently located in the middle ear. This part converts the electrical signals into mechanical vibrations. The vibrations then reach the cochlea in the inner ear.

An incision was made behind the ear in order to fit the hearing implant. One part of the hearing implant was then placed behind the ear on the skull bone. Another part was fitted in the middle ear at the point of connection between the middle ear and inner ear.