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Verification of speech spectrum audibility for pediatric Baha Softband users with craniofacial anomalies
Insights
The Baha Softband significantly improves hearing for children with bilateral conductive hearing loss. This bone conduction device makes speech frequencies audible, aiding audibility for young patients.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Bilateral conductive hearing loss in children can impede speech development.
- Early intervention is crucial for managing hearing loss in pediatric populations.
- Bone conduction devices offer a non-surgical option for hearing rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the Baha Softband in improving audibility for children with bilateral conductive hearing loss.
- To verify audibility across the speech spectrum (500-4000 Hz) with Baha Softband amplification.
- To provide data supporting the use of Baha Softband for pediatric hearing loss.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective chart review of 25 children (6 months to 18 years) with craniofacial disorders and conductive hearing loss.
- Pretest-posttest repeated measures design assessing aided and unaided soundfield audiometric thresholds.
- Functional gain calculation and comparison of aided thresholds to target speech spectrum levels.
Main Results:
- Significant improvement in soundfield thresholds observed with Baha Softband amplification across tested octave frequencies.
- Aided thresholds met target levels for speech spectrum audibility in a high percentage of cases, exceeding the 80% criterion.
- The Baha Softband demonstrated clear benefits in audibility for the pediatric participants.
Conclusions:
- The Baha Softband is beneficial for providing audibility of the speech spectrum in infants and children with bilateral congenital conductive hearing loss.
- These findings support the use of the Baha Softband as an effective intervention for pediatric hearing loss.
- The study provides valuable data for third-party reimbursement and clinical decision-making.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was (1) to determine benefit of the Baha Softband coupled to the Softband for infants and children with bilateral conductive hearing loss; and (2) to verify audibility of the speech spectrum for octave frequencies 500 through 4000 Hz.
Design:
The research design for this retrospective chart study is pretest-posttest repeated measures.
Setting:
The study was conducted in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, Arkansas Children's Hospital.
Participants:
Twenty-five children aged 6 months to 18 years with craniofacial disorders and bilateral conductive hearing loss participated in the study. Participants were consistent, full-time unilateral Baha users with the Baha Compact bone-conduction amplifier coupled to the head via the Softband.
Interventions:
The intervention was the Baha device coupled to the head via the Softband as a prerequisite to surgical implantation.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
The primary study outcome measures used aided and unaided soundfield audiometric thresholds to calculate functional gain. Audibility of the speech spectrum was verified by comparison with target aided thresholds.
Results:
Results revealed an improvement in soundfield thresholds with Baha amplification for the four octave frequencies. Means, standard deviations, and confidence intervals for aided and unaided thresholds are reported. Percentages of thresholds meeting target levels were significant at all frequencies, exceeding the 80% criterion.
Conclusions:
Benefit of the Baha in providing audibility of the speech spectrum for infants and children with bilateral congenital conductive hearing loss has been demonstrated, offering important and timely data supporting third-party reimbursement.
