Audiological Results in SSD With an Active Transcutaneous Bone Conduction Implant at a Retrosigmoidal Position

One option for patients with single sided deafness (SSD) who experience problems with insufficient hearing in different surroundings is the treatment with percutaneous bone-anchored hearing aids. Common medical problems associated to a skin penetrating abutment can be avoided by active transcutaneous bone conduction hearing implants. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the benefit of an active transcutaneous bone conduction hearing implant in patients with SSD.

Patients suffering from SSD who are implanted with an active transcutaneous bone conduction hearing implant in retrosigmoidal position were audiologically analyzed. The audiological test battery included air and bone conduction thresholds, word recognition score (WRS) in quiet and speech intelligibility (Oldenburg Sentence Test [OLSA]) in noise. Patient satisfaction was evaluated with the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) and the Bern-Benefit in Single-Sided Deafness (BBSS) questionnaire.

The monosyllable WRS and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) assessed by the OLSA was significantly better in all aided conditions. Also, the APHAB categories ease of communication and reverberation and the average benefit in the BBSS improved significantly if using the device.

The Bonebridge is a transcutaneous alternative to the well-established percutaneous bone conducting devices in patients with single sided deafness. An improvement in hearing in noise and quiet as well as a decrease of the head shadow effect can be expected.