Comparison of an adhesive wearing option and a headband in a non-implantable bone conduction hearing device.
Publisher DOI
PubMed ID
41621437
Abstract
Background
Non-implantable bone conduction (BC) hearing systems are well-established for individuals with conductive or mixed hearing loss.Objective
To evaluate the audiological performance of two wearing options-an adhesive adapter and headband-worn unilaterally and bilaterally using the same non-implantable BC hearing device Contact Forte (BHM Inc., Grafenschachen, Austria).Material And Methods
Fifteen normal hearing adults with simulated bilateral conductive hearing losses participated in the study. Speech understanding in quiet and in noise were measured unaided and with BC devices worn unilaterally, bilaterally, with adhesive adapters, and mounted on headbands. Sound quality was rated using a questionnaire.Results
At 50 dB SPL word recognition scores in quiet improved, on average, by 58% (unilateral), and 69% (bilateral) with adhesive adapters and by 65% and 74% with headbands. At 65 dB mean scores were above 95% in all aided conditions. In noise, speech presented speech reception thresholds decreased by 2.3-3.6 dB. With two devices, an additional benefit of 4.4 dB SNR (p<.001) was observed for speech from the side of the second device. Participants favored the bilateral configurations.Conclusion And Significance
Both wearing options showed comparable improvements in speech understanding. Bilateral fittings led to better speech understanding for one configuration and were favored subjectively.
Non-implantable bone conduction (BC) hearing systems are well-established for individuals with conductive or mixed hearing loss.Objective
To evaluate the audiological performance of two wearing options-an adhesive adapter and headband-worn unilaterally and bilaterally using the same non-implantable BC hearing device Contact Forte (BHM Inc., Grafenschachen, Austria).Material And Methods
Fifteen normal hearing adults with simulated bilateral conductive hearing losses participated in the study. Speech understanding in quiet and in noise were measured unaided and with BC devices worn unilaterally, bilaterally, with adhesive adapters, and mounted on headbands. Sound quality was rated using a questionnaire.Results
At 50 dB SPL word recognition scores in quiet improved, on average, by 58% (unilateral), and 69% (bilateral) with adhesive adapters and by 65% and 74% with headbands. At 65 dB mean scores were above 95% in all aided conditions. In noise, speech presented speech reception thresholds decreased by 2.3-3.6 dB. With two devices, an additional benefit of 4.4 dB SNR (p<.001) was observed for speech from the side of the second device. Participants favored the bilateral configurations.Conclusion And Significance
Both wearing options showed comparable improvements in speech understanding. Bilateral fittings led to better speech understanding for one configuration and were favored subjectively.
Date Issued
2026-03
Publication Type
Article
Subject(s)
Subjects
Non-implantable wearing options
•
adhesive adapter
•
bone conduction devices
•
headband
Language(s)
en
Author(s)
Journal
Acta Oto-laryngologica
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN
1651-2251
0001-6489
Access(Rights)
metadata.only