Fitting range of the BAHA Cordelle.

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Otorhinolaryngology

Background:

• Mixed hearing loss presents unique challenges for hearing rehabilitation.
• Bone-Anchored Hearing Aids (BAHA) offer a solution for conductive and mixed hearing losses.
• The BAHA Cordelle is the most powerful BAHA device currently available.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the audiological performance of the BAHA Cordelle in patients with severe to profound mixed hearing loss.
• To determine the fitting range and dynamic characteristics of the BAHA Cordelle.
• To assess the impact of BAHA Cordelle on speech perception.

Main Methods:

• 25 patients with severe to profound mixed hearing loss were fitted with the BAHA Cordelle.
• Free-field thresholds, unaided air conduction thresholds, and aided free-field thresholds were measured.
• Speech perception was assessed using monosyllabic and bisyllabic words.
• Loudness growth functions were measured to estimate the dynamic range and saturation levels.

Main Results:

• BAHA Cordelle provided significant improvements in free-field thresholds compared to bone-conduction thresholds across tested frequencies.
• Substantial improvements were observed between unaided air conduction and aided free-field thresholds.
• Speech perception results were highly consistent between different word types.
• The device's fitting range was limited by its gain characteristics and output saturation, particularly for profound sensorineural loss.

Conclusions:

• The BAHA Cordelle effectively improves hearing in patients with severe to profound mixed hearing loss.
• The device's output saturation limits its upper fitting range, suggesting a need for higher maximum output levels for patients with more profound sensorineural components.
• Further research into increasing the maximum output of BAHA devices could benefit a wider range of hearing loss profiles.