Envoy Medical Corporation was founded in 1995 to design, develop and market implantable devices for the treatment of sensory disorders. A privately held, Minnesota-based company, the current focus of the organization is to improve the quality of life for the millions of individuals suffering from sensorineural hearing loss.

Over 21.5 million adults in the United States suffer from sensorineural hearing loss. Conventional microphone-based hearing aids are the most common treatment today for sensorineural hearing loss. However, only 20 to 30% of the hearing impaired use hearing aids and many who try hearing aids stop after a short period. The most commonly sited limitations of hearing aids include poor understanding in noise, poor sound quality, whistling (acoustic feedback), battery life, poor fit and discomfort.

The technology platform of the Esteem®-Hearing Implant™ developed by Envoy Medical is different from all other microphone-based hearing devices (hearing aids, other middle ear implants or cochlear implants). The Esteem®-Hearing Implant™ uses the eardrum to process the incoming sound and thereby preserving a natural way of hearing that may benefit patients in almost all listening situations, including noisy environments. The Esteem®-Hearing Implant™ is 100% implantable and therefore invisible.

The device (similar to pacemaker technology) is implanted under the skin behind the ear. Two leads extend into the middle ear from the device. Sound waves travel into the ear canal and set the ear drum (tympanic membrane) into motion causing the bones of the middle ear to vibrate. The device senses these movements and delivers a customized dose of energy to the cochlea which transmits the signals to the brain. The brain interprets the signals as hearing, which in turn provides the patient with a New World of Sound™.

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