Creation of an incus recess for a middle-ear microphone using a drill or laser ablation: a comparison of equivalent noise level and middle ear transfer function.

Whilst drilling resulted in substantially higher equivalent noise, we considered that the recess created by laser ablation was more likely to lead to movement of the microphone balltip, and therefore decrease performance or result in malfunction over time. For patients with greatly reduced residual hearing, the greater consistency from drilling the incus recess may outweigh the potential benefits of hearing preservation with laser ablation.