Comparison of Performance of Transcranial Contralateral Routing of Signal, Pre-Implanted Trimmer Digital and Digital Bone Anchored Hearing Aid in Adults with Unilateral Hearing Loss

Abstract

Individuals with unilateral hearing loss of severe-profound degree face listening difficulties while localizing a sound source and while perceiving speech in the presence of noise. The objective was to compare the efficacy of the digitally programmable bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA), trimmer digital BAHA and the transcranial contralateral routing of signal (T-CROS) in improving the listening performance in adults with unilateral hearing loss. Twenty-four adults with unilateral hearing loss was assessed for sound field thresholds, speech perception performance in quiet and noise (direct and indirect conditions) and the subjective quality rating of speech in unaided and aided with either T-CROS or digitally programmable BAHA or trimmer digital BAHA attached to the headband. Results indicated that the participants performed better with both the digitally programmable and the trimmer digital BAHA than the T-CROS in both quiet and noise. However, the digitally programmable BAHA performed better when the speech arrived from the poorer ear side. The current study helps in prioritizing the hearing amplification devices for the trial and also helps in arriving at the appropriate hearing amplification device for the individuals with unilateral hearing loss.

Hearing devices for children with unilateral hearing loss: Patient- and parent-reported perspectives

“…The patient has continued to use the device, but we are unable to comment generally on patterns of usage for BCSP or make comparisons to CROS device usage among children with SSD. In adults with SSD, BCSPs have been found to improve hearing thresholds as well as, if not better than, CROS devices 18 . In addition, BCSPs may be among the only amplification options for children with congenital anomalies of the ear, such as microtia and aural atresia, and hearing outcomes in this population have been found to be favorable 19 .…”

Guideline “Implantable hearing aids”—short version

“…These investigations can be done in an outpatient or inpatient setting. The following requirements should be kept in mind: 4…”

“…4 Single sided deafness. 4 Single sided deafness can be regarded as a special case: an indication could be set in patients who do not fulfill the indication for a cochlear implant (missing or destroyed vestibulocochlear nerve) and in whom satisfying hearing rehabilitation with conventional CROS/BiCROS ((bilateral) contra lateral routing of signal) hearing aids can not be achieved. The indication in these cases exists exclusively for bone conduction hearing aids [16].…”

“…The patient should be thoroughly counselled about the existing implants, in order to be able to form an informed decision. The following criteria could help in choosing the right system: 4 The aim should be a long-term hearing rehabilitation of more than 30 dB respective the augmentation characteristics of the system [25]. To achieve sufficient speech recognition the dynamic range of the system should be of at least 30-35 dB [25].…”

“…To achieve sufficient speech recognition the dynamic range of the system should be of at least 30-35 dB [25]. 4 CROS effects should be taken into consideration [4]. 4 The preoperative bone threshold should not be planned at the maximum output level of the implantable hearing aid; a reserve should be available to enable sufficient rehabilitation in case of progressive hearing loss.…”