Age-related use and benefit of the bone-anchored hearing aid compact.
OBJECTIVE
To study age-related patient satisfaction with the bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) compact.


METHODS
A retrospective postal questionnaire, the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA), was sent to 211 BAHA Compact users. Questionnaire responses from 135 BAHA users were analyzed related to age, sex, years of BAHA experience, and the hearing thresholds (pure-tone average) at the aided side. Age ranged from 18 to 77 years.


RESULTS
The IOI-HA showed that the BAHA Compact was greatly appreciated by almost all of the users: most patients stated that they were using the device for most of the day; it helped them to hear better and it reduced the number of situations in which hearing impairment was problematical. The cumulative score on the questionnaire was negatively influenced by age (rho = -0.191, p = 0.05). Furthermore, increase in sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) component was associated with decrease in total IOI-HA scores (Spearman rho = -0.193, p < 0.05). A significant correlation was found between age and the SNHL component (Spearman rho = 0.525, p < 0.001).There were no significant differences in the levels of difficulty with placing the BAHA on the implant or with handling the BAHA between the age groups. Cleaning the skin around the implant causes the most difficulties in the youngest age group (p < 0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
The BAHA Compact enhances participation in various domains of communication. Differences in patients' satisfaction seemed to be correlated with the SNHL component rather than age.
de Wolf
Maarten J F
MJ
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Donders Centre for Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. M.deWolf@kno.umcn.nl
Leijendeckers
Joop M
JM
Mylanus
Emmanuel A M
EA
Hol
Myrthe K S
MK
Snik
Ad F M
AF
Cremers
Cor W R J
CW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000009:adverse effects; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D046089:Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D013067:Speech Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult