An Overview of Different Systems: The Bone-Anchored Hearing Aid

Abstract

In the past 30 years, a large amount of clinical and audiological research on bone conduction hearing devices has been performed. In this review, we give a brief history of the developments in indications, surgical techniques and sound processors with respect to implantable bone conduction devices like the bone-anchored hearing aid or Baha. Starting with the use of Baha in patients with bilateral conductive or mixed hearing loss (HL), the indications for such devices have been extended to patients with unilateral HL, children and moderate mentally retarded patients. Bilateral fitting has been shown to be beneficial in restoring binaural hearing in patients with bilateral acquired or congenital conductive HL. In addition, the surgical techniques used to implant the titanium fixture for Baha application have been modified and further developed to reach two main goals: (a) optimal osseointegration, and (b) preparation of the implant site to minimize the occurrence of soft tissue reactions. Currently, the most used techniques are the pedicled skin flap, dermatome and linear incision techniques. Several generations of the Baha(®) sound processor have been developed by Cochlear(TM) to provide sufficient amplification in different hearing situations. Improvements in sound quality, aesthetics and handling have been major points of interest. The Baha sound processors most often used today are the Baha(®) Divino, the Baha(®) Intenso and the Baha(®) Cordelle. Recently, the more flexible Baha(®) BP100 sound processor was launched.

Congenital Oval or Round Window Anomaly With or Without Abnormal Facial Nerve Course

“…Only in cases where a partial overlying facial nerve is encountered might a surgical intervention still be considered a viable option. Rehabilitation by percutaneous or upcoming transcutaneous semi-implantable bone conduction hearing devices provides good outcomes for hearing as well (33) and might be the best alternative. Furthermore, percutaneous bone conduction devices provide a better hearing outcome compared with conventional air conduction hearing devices in patients with mainly conductive hearing impairments whose air-bone gap exceeds 35 dB (34), which is primarily the case in patients with this type of congenital anomaly.…”

A novel implantable catheter system with transcutaneous port for intermittent convection-enhanced delivery of carboplatin for recurrent glioblastoma

“…The site for implantation of the TBAP prepared and draped. The TBAP implantation procedure was modeled on the skin-flap dermatome technique commonly used in bone-anchored hearing aid surgery (Figure 2b; Stalfors & Tjellstrom, 2008;Dun et al, 2011). A skin-flap dermatome (Osscora, Cochlear Europe, Surrey, UK) was used to elevate a 0.6 mm by 25 mm skin-flap pedicled inferiorly.…”

Long-Term Results of TORP-Vibroplasty

“…Other viable options for hearing rehabilitation of patients with chronically disabled ears are bone conduction hearing aids that have already proven good functional results (24). However, the widely used osseointegrated bone-anchored hearing aids also bear complications because of their percutaneous fixation (25).…”