MAXUM Benefits

Hearing aids have limitations because they use a speaker to amplify sound. Some of this amplified sound can escape from the ear canal and get picked up by the hearing aid’s microphone which causes feedback, an obnoxious squealing sound. To manage feedback, it is necessary to plug up the ear so that less sound can escape which can cause occlusion. When the ear canal is plugged, amplified sound waves from the hearing aid speaker reflect and bump into each other causing a distorted or unnatural sound quality.

MAXUM Changes That

MAXUM is speakerless! The MAXUM System utilizes an advanced electromagnetic coil and implant which directly drives the inner ear to “amplify” sounds providing cleaner, crisper sound quality and more amplification while reducing or eliminating feedback and occlusion.

Improve Sound Quality

Directly stimulates the cochlea (inner ear) for cleaner, crisper sound quality and more amplification.

Minimize Occlusion

Allows the user’s voice to sound more natural (less hollow) by not plugging or occluding the ear canal.

Reduce Feedback

Produces electromagnetic energy instead of acoustic energy so feedback is reduced or eliminated without reducing gain.

Limitations of Hearing Aids

Occlusion

Hearing aid patients with moderate to severe hearing loss often require a custom mold to fit tightly in the ear canal in order to manage feedback. This provides as much sound pressure as possible in the ear canal and minimizes sound leakage. However, by blocking or occluding the ear canal, the natural physics of the hearing system are changed which may alter the perception of one’s own voice when talking. This often makes the wearer’s voice sound hollow or “in a barrel” which is called the occlusion effect.

Distortion

Hearing aids with custom molds often cause amplified sound waves to reflect and bump into each other, which can make sounds louder but not clearer. This distorted sound quality makes it difficult to understand speech.

Feedback

Feedback occurs when the amplified sound from a hearing aid speaker makes its way back to the microphone. This sets up a feedback loop and the result is a squealing or whistling sound. As gain is increased, more sound energy escapes back to the microphone, resulting in more feedback. Therefore, feedback limits the amount of gain and benefit that hearing aids may provide.

MAXUM Preference Over Hearing Aids

In an FDA clinical study, patients overwhelmingly preferred their MAXUM hearing implants over their hearing aids.

Are you a candidate for MAXUM?