Objective: To study whether unilateral Bone-anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) fitting led to subjective hearing benefit in patients with congenital unilateral conductive hearing impairment.
Study design: Prospective evaluation on 20 patients.
Setting: Tertiary referral center.
Patients: Ten adults and 10 children with congenital unilateral conductive hearing impairment, with a mean air-bone gap of 50 dB, were included.
Methods: Subjective bilateral hearing benefit after BAHA fitting was measured using 2 disability-specific questionnaires: Chung and Stephens and the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of hearing profile (children's version in the patients aged <18 yr). The Glasgow children's benefit inventory was also used to measure patient's health benefit after BAHA fitting.
Results: Chung and Stephens' questionnaire showed an overall preference for the BAHA in several specific hearing situations. The Glasgow children's benefit inventory demonstrated an overall mean improvement of +34, which was the most prominent in the learning domain. The 10 adults showed an already good score on the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of hearing scale in the unaided situation.
Conclusion: The BAHA was well accepted by most of the patients with congenital unilateral conductive hearing impairment. A preoperative trial of the BAHA system with the BAHA on a headband is part of the preoperative procedure. In children with unilateral conductive hearing loss, with regard to possible childs' development and communication difficulties, intervention with BAHA can be considered as an option.