Hearing is an essential part of human life. It is estimated that ten percent of the world population has hearing problems. Without treatment, people with hearing loss experience social isolation, and are more prone to psychological illness, depression, anxiety and paranoia. Loss of hearing means loss of information, networking and economic power for an individual and the economy. The Esteem^® inner ear stimulator is the only fully implantable hearing device for sensorineural hearing loss that uses the natural ear as a microphone. It is a surgically implanted device to help improve hearing and enhance the quality of your life. 

Esteem^® is designed to help improve the hearing of many adults with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. Esteem^® is fully implanted in the middle ear. It is not a hearing aid.  The technology consists of the Sound Processor, implanted behind the outer ear, and two transducers (called the Sensor and Driver) that are implanted in the middle ear.

Because all the parts of Esteem^® are implanted, Esteem^® is invisible to you and others, making it a totally invisible alternative to hearing aids. The materials used to make Esteem^® have been proven safe and reliable in millions of pacemakers and other implanted medical devices. Esteem^® uses your own eardrum as a natural microphone, picking up sounds through the ear canal, thereby using the body’s natural anatomy to reduce the background noise, distortion, and acoustic feedback that people experience with conventional hearing aids.

The Sensor is attached to the ossicular chain. It picks up vibrations from the eardrum, malleus and incus bones and converts the vibrations into electrical signals. These signals are sent to the Sound Processor. The Sound Processor filters and increases the electrical signals and sends them to the Driver.

The Sound Processor is programmed by your Health Care Professional to customize Esteem^® settings for your particular hearing needs. The Sound Processor case also holds the battery.

The Driver is attached to the stapes in the middle ear.  The Driver converts the electrical signals that it has received from the Sound Processor back into mechanical vibrations and transmits these signals to the stapes and the cochlea.

The Personal Programmer is your personal “remote control” that can be used to turn your Esteem^® On or Off (standby), select the volume and select one of three unique program settings. You will be able to adjust your Esteem^® to your own comfort level no matter where you are — at home, using the telephone, in a crowded restaurant, or on a noisy street.