Audiological benefit and subjective satisfaction with the ADHEAR hearing system in children with unilateral...

The ADHEAR system (MED-EL, Innsbruck, Austria) is a new adhesive bone conduction hearing aid. This study evaluates the audiological benefit and subjective satisfaction as well as the manageability in everyday life in children with unilateral conductive hearing loss.

Ten children with unilateral hearing loss of different origin were included in the study. The audiological assessment included sound field audiometry and speech intelligibility in quiet and in noise, which was tested unaided and after 4 weeks of wearing the hearing system. Subjective benefit and satisfaction with the system was assessed using the SSQ for parents. With a second system-specific questionnaire, suitability for everyday use and quality of life were queried.

With ADHEAR, speech perception in quiet improved by 44%. The word recognition score in noise improved from 11.7% in the unaided situation to 46.7% with the ADHEAR system. The SSQ for parents demonstrates a subjective benefit and satisfaction with the system.

ADHEAR is an effective treatment option for children with unilateral conductive hearing loss. Especially children who are not eligible for semi-implantable hearing systems or do not accept hearing devices on a softband can benefit from this device.