The bone conduction implant BONEBRIDGE increases quality of life and social life satisfaction

Abstract

Purpose Transcutaneous active bone conduction hearing aids represent an alternative approach to middle ear surgery and conventional hearing aids for patients with conductive or mixed hearing loss. The aim of this study was to determine quality of life, subjective hearing experience and patients’ satisfaction after implantation of a bone conduction hearing aid. Methods This monocentric and retrospective study included twelve adult patients who received a bone conduction hearing aid (Bonebridge, MedEL) consisting of an extracorporeal audio processor and a bone conduction implant (BCI) between 2013 and 2017. On average 40 months after implantation, the patients were asked to answer three questionnaires regarding quality of life (AqoL-8D), self-reported auditory disability (SSQ-12-B) and user’s satisfaction (APSQ) after implantation of the Bonebridge (BB). A descriptive statistical analysis of the questionnaires followed. Results 12 patients aged 26–85 years (sex: m = 7, w = 5) were recruited. The quality of life of all patients after implantation of the BB (AqoL 8D) averaged an overall utility score of 0.76 (SD ± 0.17). The mean for ‘speech hearing’ in the SSQ-12-B was + 2.43 (SD ± 2.03), + 1.94 (SD ± 1.48) for ‘spatial hearing’ and + 2.28 (SD ± 2.32) for ‘qualities of hearing’. 11 out of 12 patients reported an improvement in their overall hearing. The APSQ score for the subsection ‘wearing comfort’ was 3.50 (SD ± 0.87), ‘social life’ attained a mean of 4.17 (SD ± 1.06). The ‘device inconveniences’ reached 4.02 (SD ± 0.71) and ‘usability’ of the device was measured at 4.23 (SD ± 1.06). The average wearing time of the audio processor in the cohort was 11 h per day, with 8 of 12 patients reporting the maximum length of 12 h per day. Conclusion BB implantation results in a gain in the perceived quality of life (AqoL 8D). The SSQ-12-B shows an improvement in subjective hearing. According to the APSQ, it can be assumed that the BB audio processor, although in an extracorporeal position, is rated as a useful instrument with positive impact on social life. The majority stated that they had subjectively benefited from BB implantation and that there were no significant physical or sensory limitations after implantation.

Binaural hearing in monaural conductive or mixed hearing loss fitted with unilateral Bonebridge

“…It follows that, due to the huge improvement of speech intelligibility through the use of a BCI in patients with bilateral conductive hearing impairment, the mean level of satisfaction may result in an overestimation of the subjective benefits of patients affected by unilateral conductive hearing loss fitted with monaural Bonebridge. According to a recent work by Irmer et al who highlighted the benefits of BC implantation in terms of subjective hearing 26 , our results account for the better speech perception of patients implanted with monaural Bonebridge.…”

Comparison of Quality of Life Outcomes for Percutaneous Versus Transcutaneous Implantable Hearing Devices: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…Full text review of these 290 articles was conducted, and a total of 52 articles were selected for inclusion (Fig. 1) (13–64). Critical appraisal of studies indicated an acceptably low risk of bias for the majority of included studies (Fig.…”