Objective Measurement of Ossicular Chain Mobility Using a Palpating Instrument Intraoperatively

Inclusion criteria: * Adult subjects * Normally scheduled for middle-ear or internal-ear surgery as a result of an ear disease and for whom a routine assessment of the mobility of the ossicle chain is in order. The targeted subject population consists of patients undergoing stapedotomy for otosclerosis and subjects with a normal ossicular chain who are subject to the placement of a cochlear implant to treat hearing loss. Exclusion criteria: * Children * Subjects in whom the ossicle chain is missing or incomplete * Missing informed consent form * Incapacitated subjects or subjects with impaired judgment capability.