Instant auditory benefit of an adhesive BCHD on children with bilateral congenital microtia

Abstract

Bilateral congenital microtia commonly leads to mild-to-severe conductive hearing loss (CHL), which significantly affects daily communication, causing developmental retardation of speech, poor learning achievement and mental diseases [1]. Bone conduction hearing devices (BCHDs), wearable or implanted, are widely used to restore their hearing ability [2]. Most wearable BCHDs are attached to the skin (mastoid or forehead) with a softband, steel-spring headband, or other fixation types, causing a static pressure [3]. This pressure leads to discomfort, skin reactions and pains for long-term use. The pressure problem also exists in implantable bone conduction systems via magnets (such as BAHA attract and Sophono) [4]. ADHEAR is a pressure-free wearable BCHD, with an adhesive adapter to ensure fixation. The auditory benefit of ADHEAR has already been estimated for bilateral or unilateral CHL in both adults [5] and children [6]. However, the data for children with congenital microtia is still needed.