ABSTRACT
Patients with bilateral conductive hearing losses continue to be a source of frustration for both otologists and audiologists. Efforts to rehabilitate their hearing have included medical and surgical treatment, as well as the use of conventional hearing aids and, less frequently, conventional bone-conduction hearing aids. In the late 1980s, a percutaneous bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) developed by Dr. A. Tjellström, as an offshoot of Dr. P. I. Brånemark's work on osseointegration of titanium and bone, became commercially available. The BAHA has become a high-performing, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing sound processor. The results of a 10-year BAHA program based at Markham Stouffville Hospital are summarized. In particular, a retrospective review of the 76 patients implanted between 1990 and 1997 is reported (i.e., a 3- to 10-year follow-up). Recent innovations to the design of the BAHA will be described that will further improve the quality of life for these patients.
