Audiologic and Surgical Outcomes of a Novel, Nonpercutaneous, Bone Conducting Hearing Implant

Abstract

To assess the selection criteria, surgical technique, audiologic, and quality of life outcomes for a novel, nonpercutaneous bone conductor hearing aid. Retrospective case review. Secondary otology practice. Eighteen patients (16 adults and 2 children). Implantation of unilateral (n = 16) or bilateral (n = 2) devices. Mean preoperative and postoperative air conduction and bone conduction free-field testing, BKB-SIN aided and unaided at 0-degree 70 dB SPL, Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ), aided and unaided measures of localization and discrimination in single-sided deafness (SSD), surgical complications. Implants have been fixed under general or local anesthesia without perioperative complications. Two patients noted minor skin irritation only. Audiologic gain was greatest for those with bilateral conductive loss (21.9 ± 10.4 dB HL). For those with bilateral and unilateral mixed loss, gain was 6.2 ± 5.3 dB HL and 5.5 ± 6.5 dB HL, respectively. A greater improvement was seen with BKB-SIN at 70 dB SPL at 0 with all groups except for SSD, gaining statistically significant benefit. Localization and discrimination studies in patients with SSD or unilateral conductive loss failed to detect benefit from aiding. SSQ scores show an improvement in all domains for each patient group. The surgical procedure requires no specialized equipment and can be performed as a day case. This device complements treatment for patients requiring bone conduction aids and presents as an alternative to conventional percutaneous bone-anchored implants.