Bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA) : clinical evaluation
Jankowski, R.; Pialoux, R.; Labaeye, P.; Simon, C.
Annales d'oto-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico faciale bulletin de la Societe d'oto-laryngologie des hopitaux de Paris 115(6): 315-320
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-438X PMID: 9922827 Document Number: 485655
The bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) allows direct bone-conduction through a titanium implant. This avoids skin irritation and seems to improve the sound quality when compared with a conventional bone hearing aid. Aim of this work was to evaluate this new hearing-aid. 9 patients have been operated on between May 1994 and April 1997. Two aural atresia and 7 radical mastoidectomy; 6 had prior conventional bone hearing aid and one a bilateral air-conduction hearing aid. Their mean bone conduction threshold was 28 dB (17-38 dB). Their maximum speech discrimination score was 100%. Audiological tests and questionnaires were used for the evaluation. The mean follow-up was 9-months (3-35). Osseointegration succeeded in the 9 cases. Skin tolerance was excellent in 6 cases. 3 patients had transient adverse skin reactions, with one having needed a revision surgery under local anesthesia. All patients use their BAHA everyday. The mean prosthesis gain was 36 dB (20-50 dB). Eight patients completed the questionnaire. Patients reported an overall satisfaction score between 9 and 10 (range 6-10). BAHA advantageously replaced the prior hearing aid (mean satisfaction score: 9.1 for BAHA versus 5.9). The only complaints were sensitivity to wind noise and lack of a phone connexion.