Use of Amplification in Children With Unilateral Hearing Loss
Unilateral Hearing LossUnilateral hearing loss (UHL) in children has been demonstrated to have a negative impact on quality of life, school performance and behavior. Despite this knowledge, it remains unclear how to best manage this common problem. There has been much debate regarding this issue with many programs recommending preferential seating in the classroom and use of a frequency-modulated (FM) system to amplify the teacher's voice in the classroom (conventional measures), and others recommending these accommodations in addition to use of a hearing aid for amplification (amplification). There is very limited research to support or refute the efficacy of a hearing aid in improving measurable academic, behavioral, or quality-of-life (QOL) outcomes in children with UHL. We propose a study evaluating the impact of hearing aid use in school-aged children (ages 6-12 years) with mild to moderately severe UHL. In this study, subjects will be randomized to receive either conventional measures or conventional measures plus amplification. After a three month period, the groups will be reversed, with each subject serving as their own control. Outcome measurements will include patient reported disease-specific QOL reported by patients, parents, and teachers using validated survey instruments at regular intervals throughout the study period.
Clinical Survey of Minimally Invasive Ponto Surgical Technique (MIPS)
Bone Conduction DeafnessUnilateral Deafness2 moreThe objective of the study is to compare the outcomes after a surgical procedure with minimally invasive Ponto surgery (MIPS, test group) and tissue preservation surgery (control) for placing Oticon Medical Ponto implants and abutments.
PRINCE22 System Complete Performance Study
Hearing LossBilateral2 moreThe investigation proposes to compare a narrow reference beamformer to a novel beamformer approach, when the talker is not in front of the hearing aid user and in the presence of background noise. The beamformer effect will be determined in terms of speech intelligibility, listening effort and ability to multitask when the talkers are located on the side or in the back.
Bone Conduction Auditory Performance Via the Tooth for Single-Sided Deafness
Unilateral Hearing LossThe purpose of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of using bone conduction via the teeth to treat Single-Sided Deafness (SSD).
Clinical Study of Minimally Invasive Ponto Surgical Technique (MIPS) - Design Iteration
Bone Conduction DeafnessUnilateral Deafness2 moreThe objective of the study is to compare the outcomes after a surgical procedure with minimally invasive Ponto surgery (MIPS, test group) and tissue preservation surgery (control) for placing Oticon Medical Ponto implants and abutments.
Clinical Survey of Oticon Medical Ponto BHX Implant
Hearing Impaired (Partially)Hearing Impairment2 moreInvestigation of stability of the BHX implant in adult patients indicated and counselled for a bone anchored hearing aid system. Patients are followed according to clinical practice for a total of 12 months in the study. Stability of the implant is evaluated by implant stability quotient.
Evaluation of the Baha SoundArc in Pediatric Patients
Hearing LossConductive4 moreThe purpose of this study is to gather clinical performance data on the Baha SoundArc
Functional Near Infra-Red Spectroscopic Study of Central Auditory System Cortical Functional Reorganization...
Hearing LossUnilateralThis study aims to compare the auditory cortical activity in response to monaural and binaural stimuli, measured by functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) between Single-sided Deaf (SSD) Children, and Normal-Hearing (NH) children from 5 to 16 years. Binaural audiological performance, speech skills and quality of life (QoL) will be compared between the 2 groups and links to with the cortical activity will be assessed.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Bone-anchored Hearing Aids (Baha)
Conductive Hearing LossMixed Hearing Loss1 moreA bone-anchored hearing aid (Baha) consists of a titanium implant located at the mastoid, and a sound processor connected with the implant. The sound processor delivers bone conducted stimuli to the cochlea, bypassing the outer and middle ear. Some patients who are unable to wear or do not benefit from a conventional air-conduction hearing aid, are candidate for a Baha. Typically, these patients suffer from a conductive or a mixed hearing loss. Recently however, Baha's are also being recommended in patients with unilateral deafness. Sound coming from the deaf side is captured and transmitted through bone conduction to the normal inner ear. The overall benefit of a Baha is more difficult to assess in those patients. Therefore, the goal of the current study is to examine the benefit of a Baha in patients with different audiological profiles (unilateral or bilateral conductive or mixed hearing loss, and unilateral deafness). Special attention will be given to predictive determinants of the benefit with a Baha, and to the improvement of pre-operative criteria and counseling of patients.
Evaluation of BiCROS Fitting Benefits
Unilateral Deafness23 candidates for BiCROS hearing aids will be recruited and fitted with a hearing aid and a CROS device. Following a real-world trial, each participant will be tested on a range of outcome measures including speech recognition in noise, ratings of listening effort, and ratings of preference.