title: [Treatment of severe to profound mixed hearing loss with the BAHA Cordelle II].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Evaluation of the audiological outcome and subjective satisfaction of BAHA Cordelle II in the treatment of patients with severe to profound bilateral mixed hearing loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study of 12 patients suffering a severe to profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, using pure tone audiometry (PTA), speech audiometry and subjective evaluation before and after the implantation of a BAHA Cordelle II (Cochlear(®)).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average gain in conversational frequencies (0.5 to 4kHz) with BAHA in free field was 43, 51, 47 and 44dB, respectively. We observed a GAP over closure in 10 of the 12 patients. Speech audiometry improved from 85% at 83dB of maximum discrimination to 96% at 62dB. The subjective evaluation questionnaires showed great satisfaction with a slight decrease in noisy or windy environments. The great majority of our patients used the BAHA device throughout the entire day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The BAHA Cordelle II (Cochlear(®)) is a good option in the treatment of severe to profound bilateral mixed hearing loss. Its best advantages are a low risk of labyrinthization, high result predictability, easy and step-by-step surgery, no need for general anaesthesia, and the GAP over closure in all frequencies. Active middle ear devices represent another alternative, but specific indications have not been defined yet because of low universal experience. When the intelligibility of the patient is poor, cochlear implantation should be considered.
authors.affiliation: Sección de Otología, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, España. corus@santpau.cat
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Orús Dotú
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Santa Cruz Ruíz
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Juan Beltrán
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Batuecas Caletrio
authors.forename: María del Prado
authors.initials: Mdel P
authors.lastname: Venegas Pizarro
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muñoz Herrera
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001302:Audiometry, Speech; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006312:Hearing Loss, Bilateral / Q000628:therapy*; D046089:Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016348:Osseointegration; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult