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The Role of Bone-Anchored Hearing Devices and Remote Microphones in Children with Congenital Unilateral Hearing Loss

Authors :
Francesco Lazzerini
Luca Bruschini
Giacomo Fiacchini
Pietro Canzi
Stefano Berrettini
Francesca Forli
Source :
Brain Sciences, Vol 13, Iss 10, p 1379 (2023)
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2023.

Abstract

Congenital unilateral hearing loss (UHL) represents a contemporary audiologic challenge. Children with UHL can struggle with understanding speech in noise, localizing sounds, developing language, and maintaining academic performance, leading to low self-esteem, anxiety, and decreased social support. Two specific conditions related to UHL in children are single-sided deafness (SSD) and unilateral auris atresia (UAA). This was a retrospective observational study on a group of children with UHL. The Simplified Italian Matrix Sentence Test was used for the assessment of speech reception threshold (SRT) in different conditions: speech and noise from the front (S0N0), speech at 45° from the side of the better ear and noise at 45° from the opposite side (SbNw), and vice versa (SwNb). Each test was conducted unaided, with a bone-anchored hearing device (BAHD), and with a remote microphone (RM) system. The use of a BAHD and RM led to an improvement in SRT in S0N0 and SwNb conditions. The SSD subgroup demonstrated significant benefits with both devices in SwNb, and the UAA subgroup from the use of BAHD in S0N0. In conclusion, the study underscores the potential benefits of both devices in enhancing speech perception for UHL children, providing insights into effective intervention strategies for these challenging cases.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20763425
Volume :
13
Issue :
10
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Brain Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.8acc2ea06154d74a015fdee7d4ccfea
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13101379