Clinical performance, audiological outcomes, and quality of life of the Cochlear Osia ® system

The Cochlear Osseointegrated Steady-State Implant Bone Anchored Hearing Device (Osia) is a surgically implanted titanium apparatus that utilizes a piezoelectric actuator under the skin to address conductive and mixed hearing loss as well as single-sided deafness. The purpose of this study is to examine the clinical, audiologic, and quality-of-life outcomes in patients who underwent Osia implantation.

This is a retrospective study analyzing 30 adult patients (age 27-86) with conductive healing loss (CHL), mixed hearing loss (MHL), or single-sided deafness (SSD) who were implanted with the Osia device from January 2020 to April 2023 at a single institution by the senior author. Preoperative speech score testing (CNC, AzBio in quiet, AzBio in noise) were performed in all subjects while unaided, wearing conventional air conduction hearing aids, and wearing a softband BAHA. These preoperative speech scores were then compared to post-implantation speech scores using paired t-test analysis to assess for degree of speech improvement. In order to analyze quality of life after Osia implantation, each patient filled out the Glasgow Benefit Inventory (GBI) survey. The GBI is a series of 18 questions answered using a five-point Likert scale that addresses the changes in general health status, physical health status, psychosocial health status, and social support after a medical intervention.

CHL, MHL, and SSD patients had significant improvement in hearing and speech recognition scores after Osia implantation compared to preoperative unaided hearing: CNC (14 % vs 80 %, p < 0.0001), AzBio in Quiet (26 % vs 94 %, p < 0.0001), and AzBio in Noise (36 % vs 87 %, p = 0.0001). Preoperative speech scores using the softband BAHA were accurate predictors of post-implantation speech scores and can serve to determine surgical candidacy for the Osia. Post-implantation Glasgow Benefit Inventory patient surveys demonstrated significant improvement in quality of life with patients scoring an average increase of +54.1 points in heath satisfaction.

Adult patients with CHL, MHL, and SSD can receive significant improvement in speech recognition scores after implantation with the Osia device. This translates to improved quality of life, which was confirmed on the post-implantation Glasgow Benefit Inventory patient surveys.