Indications for bone-anchored hearing AIDS: a functional outcomes study.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the functional outcomes of patients previously fitted with a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) for unilateral conductive (UC), unilateral mixed (UM), or sensorineural (single-sided deafness [SSD]) hearing loss and compare them with those of patients with bilateral conductive hearing loss (BCHL).

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional cohort study.

SETTING

The Institute for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine (iRSM) at the Misercordia Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta.

METHODS

Fifty patients with multiple types of hearing loss participated in this study. Postoperative subjective evaluation was completed with the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) and the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit questionnaire (APHAB). Objective evaluation was completed with the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT).

RESULTS

The APHAB indicates that patients in all four groups find significant subjective improvement with their BAHA. SSQ data indicate that patients with BCHL and UCHL show a significantly higher preference for the sound quality of aided speech than patients with UMHL. Additionally, provision of a BAHA to patients with SSD does not allow them to subjectively localize sounds as well as it does the other groups. Significant improvements were found on the HINT in patients with BCHL, UCHL, and UMHL. There is no improvement in patients with SSD.

CONCLUSION

BCHL, UCHL, and UMHL patients, both subjectively and objectively, do well with unilateral BAHA placement. Patients with SSD note subjective improvement but cannot localize sounds. More patients with UMHL and UCHL should be considered viable BAHA candidates. Patients with SSD should be cautioned that they may not experience similar objective benefits.