Hearing Rehabilitation through Bone-Conducted Sound Stimulation: Preliminary Results

Abstract

Introduction The bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) is a bone conduction system that transmits the sound directly to the inner ear by surpassing the skin impedance and the subcutaneous tissue. It is indicated for patients with mixed, conductive and unilateral sensorineural hearing loss who did not benefit from conventional hearing aids (HAs). Although the benefits from BAHA are well demonstrated internationally, this field still lacks studies in Brazil. Objective To assess the auditory rehabilitation process in BAHA users through audiological, speech perception and tinnitus aspects. Methods Individuals with hearing loss were assessed before and after the implantation. The participants were subjected to pure tone audiometry in free field, functional gain audiometry, speech perception tests, tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) in open format, and to the visual analog scale (VAS). Results It was found that the participants benefited from the use of BAHA. The difference in the performance of the participants before and after the BAHA surgery was significant in terms of hearing acuity. There was no statistically significant difference in the speech perception tests. The tinnitus assessment showed that 80% of the participants scored slight tinnitus severity in THI after using a BAHA. Eighty percent of the participants classified their tinnitus as absent to mild in the VAS after the surgery. Conclusion Based on the results of the current study, we can conclude that the participants improved both the auditory perception and the tinnitus handicap.

Surgical and audiological results of bone-anchored hearing aids: comparison of two surgical techniques

“…A significant audiological improvement was observed when comparing the pre- and the postoperative periods ( Table 2 , Table 3 ), both for the mean of the auditory thresholds and for the speech perception tests, thus confirming the surgical indication for bone-anchored hearing aids in the two studied groups, in agreement with the relevant literature. 2 , 7 …”

“…These operations have short surgical times and low complication rates as characteristics, and may be indicated for patients with conductive, mixed hearing loss, or unilateral sensorineural hearing loss who do not benefit from air-conduction hearing rehabilitation techniques or through the use of the conventional hearing aid or middle ear reconstructive surgeries. 1 , 2 , 3 The BAHS, through a percutaneous system, consist of three elements: a titanium implant surgically inserted into the mastoid or squamous process of the temporal bone a few millimeters above the temporal line, a support structure implanted through the skin (abutment), connected to the implant through a screw, and a sound processor anchored to this structure. The implant is fixed to the bone through screw threads and is integrated into the skull through an osteointegration process by the growth of bone tissue in contact with the titanium implant surface.…”

Prótese auditiva ancorada ao osso percutânea: benefícios auditivos

“…O Sistema Ponto ® é uma PAAO, ou seja, um dispositivo capaz de produzir sensação sonora, independente da função da orelha externa e média (15,16) , pois transmite a energia por meio da vibração do crânio. Trata-se de um dispositivo implantável percutâneo, ou seja, o acoplamento com a unidade externa ocorre por meio de um pino de titânio implantado no osso da mastoide.…”

“…Adicionalmente, estudos com diferentes próteses percutâneas já demonstraram sua efetividade, com melhora significativa dos limiares tonais em todas as frequências na audiometria em campo livre (15)(16)(17)(18) , quando comparadas as condições sem e com o dispositivo eletrônico. No entanto, o maior ganho tem sido descrito para as frequências mais altas (19) ou médias (20) , o que diverge dos resultados obtidos neste estudo, que manteve um ganho similar entre todas as frequências pesquisadas, 0,5 a 4 kHz (Figura 2).…”

Zumbido, Estresse e Níveis de Zinco no Contexto Universitário: Revisão Integrativa

“…Quanto à palavra tinnitus, foram recuperados no Rayyan, em sua maioria, 1082 (62,4%) artigos que abordaram temas que não estavam de acordo com os critérios de inclusão [43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52]; referente à palavra workers 29 (1,7%), work 1 (0,1%) e workers health 2 (0,1%) aconteceram também exclusões [53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63]; já em relação ao estresse foram também, excluídos alguns [64,65,66], entre outros. Artigos referentes aos cuidados da audição dos estudantes relacionados ao zumbido pertencentes aos critérios de exclusão também foram desconsiderados [67,68,69].…”