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Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention
Published on: December 20, 2024
Does the bone-anchored hearing aid have a complementary effect on audiological and subjective outcomes in patients
Myrthe K S Hol1, Ad F M Snik, Emmanuel A M Mylanus
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Centre St. Radboud, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. m.hol@kno.umcn.nl
Objectives:
To study the effect of a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) in patients with unilateral conductive hearing loss.
Study Design:
Prospective evaluation on 18 subjects.
Methods:
Aided and unaided binaural hearing was assessed in the sound field using a sound localization test and a speech recognition in noise test with spatially separated sound and noise sources. The patients also filled out a disability-specific questionnaire.
Patients:
13 out of the 18 subjects had normal hearing on one side and acquired conductive hearing loss in the other ear. The remaining 5 patients had a unilateral air-bone gap and mild symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss.
Results:
Sound localization with the BAHA improved significantly. Speech recognition in noise with spatially separated speech and noise sources also improved with the BAHA. Fitting a BAHA to patients with unilateral conductive hearing loss had a complementary effect on hearing. Questionnaire results showed that the BAHA was of obvious benefit in daily life.
Conclusions:
The BAHA proved to be a beneficial means to optimize binaural hearing in patients with severe (40-60 dB) unilateral conductive hearing loss according to audiometric data and patient outcome measures.
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