Hearing outcomes of the active bone conduction system Bonebridge® in conductive or mixed hearing loss

Abstract

Objective: The active transcutaneous bone conduction implant Bonebridge^®, is indicated for patients affected by bilateral conductive/mixed hearing loss or unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, showing hearing outcomes similar to other percutaneous bone conduction implants, but with a lower rate of complications. The aim of this study was to analyze the hearing outcomes in a series of 26 patients affected by conductive or mixed hearing loss and treated with Bonebridge^®.

Methods: 26 of 30 patients implanted with Bonebridge^® between October 2012 and May 2017, were included in the study. We compared the air conduction thresholds at the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000Hz, the SRT50% and the percentage of correct answers at an intensity of 50dB with and without the implant.

Results: "Pure tone average" with the implant was 34.91dB showing an average gain of 33.46dB. Average SRT 50% with the implant was 34.33dB, whereas before the surgery no patient achieved 50% of correct answers at a sound intensity of 50dB. The percentage of correct answers at 50dB changed from 11% without the implant to 85% with it. We only observed one complication consisting of an extrusion of the implant in a patient with a history of 2 previous rhytidectomies.

Conclusions: The hearing outcomes obtained in our study are similar to those published in the literature. Bonebridge^® represents an excellent alternative in the treatment of conductive or mixed hearing loss, and with a lower rate of complications.

Keywords: Audiometry; Audiometría; Bone conduction; Conductive hearing loss; Hipoacusia conductiva; Transmisión ósea.