Clinical need for a Baha trial in patients with single-sided sensorineural deafness. Analysis of a Baha database of 196 patients

Abstract

A bone-anchored hearing aid (Baha) is used in patients with single-sided sensorineural deafness (SSD) to overcome the head shadow effect. Of all the patients with SSD, treated at our hospital, 196 patients used a Baha on trial between November 2001 and April 2010. The objective of this study is to evaluate what factors determine the decision of a SSD patient whether or not to opt for a Baha device following a Baha trial period. 196 patients with SSD were enrolled for a trial period of 2 weeks at the Antwerp University Hospital, a tertiary referral centre. 93% of these patients suffered from an acquired hearing loss. 44% of all the patients (87/196) chose to wear a Baha device after the trail period, either on an abutment or on a headband. The collected data were analysed to determine correlations between the decision of a patient following a Baha trial period on the one hand, and Fletcher Index ipsi- and contralaterally, bone conduction hearing thresholds at the better hearing ear, aetiology, age at the start of the trial period, duration of hearing loss at the start of the trial period and the type of device used during the trial period, on the other hand. Although 66% of all the patients (109/196) declined the Baha after a trial, reasons not to choose a Baha were diverse and no crucial factors could be found that determine the success of a Baha trial period. Lack of improvement concerning speech understanding in noise was the most important reason mentioned by patients who declined the Baha. The authors advocate that all patients, suffering from SSD, should be offered the opportunity to try a Baha device as no factors could be found that determine the decision of a patient following the trial period.

Long-term Subjective Benefit With a Bone Conduction Implant Sound Processor in 44 Patients With Single-Sided Deafness

“…The decision of a patient seems to be based on subjective factors. Further studies by Desmet et al (18) and Faber et al (19) support these findings.…”

“…The need for and the importance of an extended preoperative trial with the BCI sound processor on a headband has been pointed out by many researchers (18,19,30). In our group, all patients had a take-home trial for at least 2 weeks before they decided to undergo BCI surgery.…”

“…All patients were part of the database studied by Desmet et al (18). They all conducted a BCI take-home trial of at least 2 weeks before they were implanted.…”

Analysis of Factors Predicting the Success of the Bone Conduction Device Headband Trial in Patients With Single-Sided Deafness

“…5,[7][8][9][10]16 The patients in the current study tried the headband because they experienced a handicap owing to their SSD. Probably most patients with SSD will never visit a physician because they are not aware of the opportunities of BCD application or are able to cope with the situation unaided.…”

Estimating the benefit of a second bone anchored hearing implant in unilaterally implanted users with a testband

“…BAHIs are widely used for the treatment of conductive or mixed hearing loss [2,3] and, more recently, also to overcome the acoustic head shadow effect in single-sided deafness [4][5][6]. They are used successfully in adults and in children [7][8][9][10].…”