The bone-anchored hearing aid: quality-of-life assessment.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the impact of a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) on the quality of life (QOL) of adults and to test the hypothesis that a BAHA improves QOL because otorrhea and/or skin irritations decrease.


METHODS
Prospective postal-based questionnaire study using validated health-related QOL instruments, combined with hearing-aid-related questions.


METHODS
The study included 56 consecutive adult patients with acquired conductive or mixed hearing loss who were scheduled for BAHA implantation at the University Medical Centre Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. All 56 patients completed the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), and the Hearing Handicap and Disability Inventory (HHDI); 36 patients had been using an air-conduction hearing aid (ACHA) and 20 patients a conventional bone-conduction hearing aid (CBHA). Questionnaires were filled out before surgery and after 6 months of experience with the BAHA.


RESULTS
In the SF-36 group, there was significant improvement in the scores of the mental health domain (P =.02). When the SF-36 patients were classified according to previous hearing aid, there was no statistically significant change in the scores in any of the domains. In the EQ-5D group and in its ACHA and CBHA subgroups, there were no important differences in the results before and after the patients received their BAHAs. In the HHDI group, the handicap and disability scales showed significant improvement (P<.01) irrespective of the type of previously worn hearing aid.


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, generic health-related QOL was not influenced significantly by the use of a BAHA according to the SF-36 and the EQ-5D. The more disease-specific scales (HHDI) did show improved QOL with a BAHA.
Hol
Myrthe K S
MK
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Centre Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. m.hol@kno.umcn.nl
Spath
Marian A
MA
Krabbe
Paul F M
PF
van der Pouw
Catharina T M
CT
Snik
Ad F M
AF
Cremers
Cor W R J
CW
Mylanus
Emmanuel A M
EA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001844:Bone Conduction / Q000502:physiology*; D017453:Dermatitis, Irritant / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000523:psychology*; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010032:Otitis Externa / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000523:psychology*; D011581:Psychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*