Doctor Restores Patient's Hearing with First Ever Prosthesis
From: Medical Design Technology - 12/10/2015

A new prosthesis for a traditional ear surgery is bringing hope to patients
diagnosed with a hereditary disorder that causes hearing loss. After
63-year-old Diane Duncan was diagnosed with otosclerosis in her thirties, she
transitioned into an isolated world where conversations with other people
became limited, everyday noises like car engines running and cell phones
ringing became almost inaudible.

Diane has conductive hearing loss - a type of condition where the ear drum
and the bones in the middle of the ear (including the stapes bone) don't
vibrate properly. The most common form to affect adults is known as
otosclerosis. Patients with otosclerosis have abnormal bone growth around the
stapes bone. The stapes bone must move freely for the ear to work properly
and for a person to hear well.

Typically doctors perform a stapedectomy to treat the condition. It involves
removing part or all of the immobilized stapes bone and replacing it with a
prosthetic device. The prosthetic device allows the bones in the middle ear
to resume movement, which stimulates fluid in the inner ear, and improves or
restores hearing.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.mdtmag.com/news/2015/12/doctor-restores-patients-hearing-first-ever-prosthesis

Not-related:
Prosthetic Hand Allows Touch Feedback and Joint Location Sensing
  (with video 5:59)
http://www.mdtmag.com/news/2015/11/prosthetic-hand-allows-touch-feedback-and-joint-location-sensing