Di Gregorio Maria Fernanda, Der Carolina, Bravo-Torres Sofia, Zernotti Mario Emilio
Department of Otoneurology, Sanatorio Allende, Nueva Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Dr. Luis Calvo Mackenna, Providencia, Santiago, Chile.
Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2024 Mar 11;28(2):e332-e338. doi: 10.1055/s-0043-1777416. eCollection 2024 Apr.
Atresia of the external auditory canal affects 1 in every 10 thousand to 20 thousand live births, with a much higher prevalence in Latin America, at 5 to 21 out of every 10 thousand newborns. The treatment involves esthetic and functional aspects. Regarding the functional treatment, there are surgical and nonsurgical alternatives like spectacle frames and rigid and softband systems. Active transcutaneous bone conduction implants (BCIs) achieve good sound transmission and directly stimulate the bone. To assess the audiological performance and subjective satisfaction of children implanted with an active transcutaneous BCI for more than one year and to compare the outcomes with a nonsurgical adhesive bone conduction device (aBCD) in the same users. The present is a prospective, multicentric study. The audiological performance was evaluated at 1, 6, and 12 months postactivation, and after a 1-month trial with the nonsurgical device. Ten patients completed all tests. The 4-frequency pure-tone average (4PTA) in the unaided condition was of 65 dB HL, which improved significantly to 20 dB HL after using the BCI for 12 months. The speech recognition in quiet in the unaided condition was of 33% on average, which improved significantly, to 99% with the BCI, and to 91% with the aBCD. The aBCD demonstrated sufficient hearing improvement and subjective satisfaction; thus, it is a good solution for hearing rehabilitation if surgery is not desired or not possible. If surgery is an option, the BCI is the superior device in terms of hearing outcomes, particularly background noise and subjective satisfaction.
外耳道闭锁在每10000至20000例活产婴儿中影响1例，在拉丁美洲患病率更高，每10000例新生儿中有5至21例患病。治疗涉及美学和功能方面。关于功能治疗，有手术和非手术替代方案，如眼镜架以及硬质和软带系统。有源经皮骨传导植入物（BCI）可实现良好的声音传输并直接刺激骨骼。
为评估植入有源经皮BCI超过一年的儿童的听力性能和主观满意度，并将结果与同一用户使用的非手术粘性骨传导装置（aBCD）进行比较。
本研究是一项前瞻性多中心研究。在激活后1个月、6个月和12个月以及使用非手术装置进行1个月试验后评估听力性能。
10名患者完成了所有测试。未佩戴辅助装置时4频率纯音平均听阈（4PTA）为65dB HL，使用BCI 12个月后显著改善至20dB HL。未佩戴辅助装置时安静环境下的言语识别率平均为33%，使用BCI时显著提高至99%，使用aBCD时提高至91%。
aBCD显示出足够的听力改善和主观满意度；因此，如果不希望或无法进行手术，它是听力康复的良好解决方案。如果手术是一种选择，就听力结果而言，特别是背景噪声和主观满意度，BCI是更优越的装置。
