Binaural hearing and quality of life after fitting with a Vibrant Soundbridge

Introduction It is well established, that fitting of a VSB leads to improved speech perception in quiet. However, little is known to what extent speech perception in noise can be improved. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change of the speech reception threshold when using the VSB as well as to record additional subjective deficits.

Methods 15 adult VSB patients with at least 24 months of hearing experience were included. The opposite ear was either fitted with a VSB (4/15), a conventional hearing aid (7/15) or unaidded (4/15). The binaural speech reception threshold (SRT) in noise was determined adaptively with the Oldenburg sentence test for 4 different loudspeaker arrays with and without VSB. The individual impairment due to hearing loss, dizziness and tinnitus was assessed with standardized questionnaires (HHIE, SSQ12, DHI, Mini-TF).

Results The range of individual speech reception thresholds was already large in the unaided state and could be reduced by wearing the VSB. The individual gain was strongly dependent on the fitting of the opposite ear. Not in all cases a significant improvement of the speech reception treshold (SRT) by wearing the VSBs could be demonstrated. The observed improvement was mainly due to the head shadow effect. The majority of patients continue to experience severe hearing loss despite wearing the VSB.

Conclusion Even though a measurable improvement of speech perception in quiet can be achieved with the VSB, the effect in noise remains limited.

Poster-PDF A-1603.pdf

Publication History

Article published online:
13 May 2021