Functional results after Bonebridge implantation in adults and children with conductive and mixed hearing loss

Abstract

In patients with conductive hearing loss caused by middle ear disorders or atresia of the ear canal, a Bonebridge implantation can improve hearing by providing vibratory input to the temporal bone. The expected results are improved puretone thresholds and speech recognition. In the European Union, approval of the Bonebridge implantation was recently extended to children. We evaluated the functional outcome of a Bonebridge implantation for eight adults and three children. We found significant improvement in the puretone thresholds, with improvement in the air-bone gap. Speech recognition after surgery was significantly higher than in the best-aided situation before surgery. The Bonebridge significantly improved speech recognition in noisy environments and sound localization. In situations relevant to daily life, hearing deficits were nearly completely restored with the Bonebridge implantation in both adults and children.

Keywords: Active hearing implants; Adults; Audiometry; Bone-conduction hearing device; Bonebridge; Children; Functional results; Mixed and conductive hearing loss.