Results of EAS performed in Japan using long electrodes: a multicenter retrospective survey
Electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS) has become an established treatment option for patients with high-frequency hearing loss. In Japan, all FLEX electrodes were approved for EAS in August 2023, resulting in increased use of longer electrodes. We investigated the impact of this approval on patient selection and electrode choice for EAS and compared hearing preservation outcomes between longer electrodes and FLEX24. We retrospectively reviewed 68 EAS cases (80 ears) treated at 27 centers in Japan from August 2023 to October 2025 and compared the findings with those from 55 EAS cases using FLEX24 in a post-marketing survey conducted at 20 centers between 2014 and 2016. Preoperative hearing thresholds and age at implantation were comparable between the two surveys. Longer electrodes (FLEX26, FLEX28, or FLEX soft) were used in 68 of 80 ears (85%) in the present survey. Patients implanted with FLEX28 showed slightly poorer hearing preservation than those implanted with FLEX24; however, the difference was not statistically significant. Sufficient residual hearing was preserved even with longer electrodes. These findings support the increasing use of longer electrodes for EAS to provide adequate cochlear coverage while accommodating potential future deterioration in hearing.
Authors
- Han Matsuda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7503-0872)
- Hidekane Yoshimura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9601-7496)
- Tadao Yoshida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9993-0766)
- Kazuma Sugahara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0612-8323)
- Seiichi Kadowaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9808-5775)
- Yuki Koda
- Hajime Sano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0645-2521)
- Teppei Noda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9071-9216)
- Masaomi Motegi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0947-6526)
- Takashi Ishino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0646-0839)
- Shin‐ya Nishio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6640-2297)
- Akinori Kashio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9453-9813)
- Takechiyo Yamada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6910-3265)
- Riu Nishimura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8337-7425)
- 大薗芳之 (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9769-121X)
- Hiroshi Nakanishi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9843-1527)
- Yasuhiro Arai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3622-4482)
- Katsumi Doi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5989-9936)
- Nobuhiro Nishiyama (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6886-9357)
- Masayuki Furukawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1278-0775)
- Takema Sakoda
- Juichi Ito
- Atsushi Kawano
- Hidehiko Takeda
- Shinichi Goto
- Koichiro Wasano
- Yutaka Takumi
- Ryohei Akiyoshi
- Masaya Konishi
- Minoru Hara
- Tadashi Nishimura
- Hiroaki Sato
- Shuji Izumi
- Satoshi Iwasaki
- Shin Kariya
- Hajime Koyama
- Kenichi Takano
- Norio Yamamoto
- Hiroshi Yamazaki
- Michiro Fujisaka
- Shin-ichi Usami
- Chikako Shinkawa
- Masato Teraoka
- Masahiro Takahashi
- Yoshiyuki Kawashima
- Akira Sasaki
Publication Details
- Journal
- Figshare
- Published
- 2026-11-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.34881800
- Primary Topic
- Hearing Loss and Rehabilitation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00