Audiological benefit and subjective satisfaction with ADHEAR Hearing System in adult users with transient hearing loss following middle ear surgery

Indroduction:

The ADHEAR-system (MED-EL, Innsbruck) is a new bone-conduction hearing aid which is adapted to the skin behind the ear without any surgical procedures. It enables the transmission of sound to the inner ear through the cranial bone (bone-conduction).

In this study, we examined speech perception and subjective hearing sensation as well as the patients' acceptance in patients using the ADHEAR system suffering from postoperative transient hearing loss following middle ear surgery.

Methods:

Speech perception in quiet is tested with the Freiburg monosyllable test (playback level of 65 dB SPL) and in noise with the Oldenburg Sentence Test (OLSA) with and without the ADHEAR-system postoperatively.

The subjective hearing sensation and the patients' acceptance were assessed with a standardized questionnaire. Data of the first patients (n = 3) will be presented.

Results:

Speech perception for monosyllables improved by 65%.

Speech perception in noise was -7,05 dB SNR on the average.

The functional hearing gain improved by 17,5 dB.

The results of the questionnaire showed a high patients' satisfaction and a subjective improvement of hearing sensation.

Conclusion:

The measurements of speech perception in quiet showed a clear improvement using the ADHEAR system compared to the unaided situation.

Speech perception in noise also improved by 2,1 dB SNR.

The results of the patient survey using a standardized questionnaire verified a high satisfaction and acceptance of the system with a subjectively improved hearing sensation.

Publication History

Publication Date:
18 April 2018 (online)