Is the Bone-Conduction HeadBand test useful for predicting the functional outcome of a round window active middle ear implant?

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the reliability of the Bone Conduction-HeadBand (BC-HB) test for predicting the postoperative functional outcome of a round-window (RW) vibroplasty.

STUDY DESIGN

Within-subject comparison of the functional results of the BC-HB test, which is routinely used for the preoperative evaluation of a bone-conduction transducer, with an active middle ear implant (AMEI) placed onto the round window.

SETTING

Tertiary referral university hospital center.

PATIENTS

Seven patients with similar anatomic (absent stapes superstructure) and functional (moderate, mixed hearing loss) sequelae from open tympanoplasty technique.

INTERVENTION

All subjects underwent preoperative audiologic assessment with the BC-HB. Subsequently, all subjects underwent surgical placement of an AMEI onto the round window.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Pure tone and speech audiometry in quiet and noise were assessed. Additionally, evaluation of specific satisfactory targets was performed using the Client Oriented Scale of Improvement.

RESULTS

Pure tone and speech audiometry in quiet established that both devices had very similar performance and provided remarkable improvement compared with the unaided condition. However, high-frequency gain and speech audiometry in noise demonstrated better performance with RW-AMEI.

CONCLUSION

In patients presenting with mixed hearing loss as a sequela from middle ear surgery, the preoperative BC-HB test may be helpful in predicting the final functional outcome and patient satisfaction with RW-AMEI.