Nishimura Tadashi, Hosoi Hiroshi, Saito Osamu, Shimokura Ryota, Yamanaka Toshiaki, Kitahara Tadashi
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck surgery.
President's Office, Nara Medical University, Kashihara, Nara.
Otol Neurotol. 2018 Jan;39(1):65-72. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000001644.
To assess the benefits of a new type of hearing aid using cartilage conduction (CC) in patients with severe conduction hearing loss and evaluate its potential for practical use.
Consecutive, prospective case series.
Forty-one subjects (21 with bilateral aural atresia; 15 with unilateral aural atresia; and 5 others) participated in this study.
Fitting and gain adjustments of the CC hearing aids were performed to the ear(s) with conduction hearing loss.
The function gains were measured. Evaluation of the measurements of speech performance-intensity functions, speech recognition scores, tolerance of environmental noise, and subject questionnaires were also performed, and judged according to the "Guidelines for the evaluation of hearing aid fitting" established by the Japan Audiological Society.
The thresholds were significantly improved by CC hearing aids. The functional gains for CC hearing aids were nearly equivalent to that for their previously used hearing aids. The style of the transducer fixation and the type of aural atresia had no significant influence on the functional gains. Most of the assessment results were judged to be sufficient. Before the trial, bone conduction hearing aids had been used most frequently by bilateral aural atresia subjects. However, after the trial, most subjects continued to use CC hearing aids instead of reverting back to their original device. Overall, 39 subjects continued use of the CC hearing aids. No severe adverse effects were noted in the trial.
Cartilage conduction hearing aids could be an additional and beneficial option for severe conduction hearing loss from aural atresia.
评估一种新型的采用软骨传导（CC）的助听器对重度传导性听力损失患者的益处，并评估其实际应用潜力。
连续的前瞻性病例系列。
41名受试者（21名双侧耳道闭锁；15名单侧耳道闭锁；另有5名）参与了本研究。
对存在传导性听力损失的耳进行CC助听器的验配和增益调整。
测量功能增益。还对言语表现-强度功能测量、言语识别分数、环境噪声耐受性以及受试者问卷进行评估，并根据日本听力学学会制定的“助听器验配评估指南”进行判断。
CC助听器使阈值显著改善。CC助听器的功能增益与他们之前使用的助听器几乎相当。换能器固定方式和耳道闭锁类型对功能增益无显著影响。大多数评估结果被判定为足够。试验前，双侧耳道闭锁受试者最常使用骨传导助听器。然而，试验后，大多数受试者继续使用CC助听器，而不是恢复使用原来的设备。总体而言，39名受试者继续使用CC助听器。试验中未观察到严重不良反应。
对于耳道闭锁导致的重度传导性听力损失，软骨传导助听器可能是一种额外的有益选择。
