Hearing Rehabilitation with Bone Anchored Hearing Aid: Experience in 14 Patients / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA) is an alternative method applicable to patients with chronic draining ear, congenital aural atresia and single sided deafness, who cannot benefit from conventional air conduction hearing aids. The objective of this study was to evaluate the experience of 14 patients who underwent BAHA surgery. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 14 patients who underwent BAHA surgery. Preoperative pure tone air and bone conduction thresholds and air-bone gap, postoperative BAHA-aided thresholds were measured. Hearing improvement as a result of implantation and complications related to implant were evaluated. RESULTS: The most common indication for BAHA was congenital aural atresia (8 patients) and the rest consisted of chronic otitis media (3 patients) and unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (3 patients). The average threshold improvement with BAHA was 40 dB and 34 dB in patients with congenital aural atresia and chronic otitis media, respectively. Patients with unilateral hearing loss had a postoperative aided threshold of 25 dB. Complications were limited to the periabutment skin problem in two patients. One patient received revision surgery replacing the diseased skin with split-thickness skin graft from a thigh and the other patient received surgery to remove the abutment and the wound was closed with rotation flap, leaving the fixture underneath the skin. CONCLUSION: BAHA could be one of the safe and reliable treatment options available for auditory rehabilitation. Systematic evaluation for candidate selection might be needed to increase hearing gain and decrease co-morbidity.