Fitting of cartilage conduction hearing aids for children with hearing impairment

Abstract

　　We reviewed the data of 13 children with conductive or mixed hearing loss who underwent a trial of cartilage conduction hearing aids (CCHA). All four children with bilateral hearing loss who were using bone conduction hearing aids (BCHA) selected CCHA as the preferred device, because CCHA felt more comfortable and were not more expensive than BCHA. One of four children with bilateral hearing loss who were wearing air conduction hearing aids (ACHA) purchased CCHA. Three cases did not desire CCHA, because CCHA were more complicated to wear and more expensive than ACHA. Two of five children with unilateral conductive hearing loss without hearing aids purchased CCHA. In the three cases that did not choose CCHA, one case chose ear surgery for improving hearing loss after the trial, and another one requested a re-trial and purchased CCHA after 1 year. We should proactively propose CCHA for children who have been offered BCHA as the only option. For children with congenital unilateral conductive hearing loss, it may be a great experience to understand their hearing impairment and the effect of binaural hearing with CCHA. The parents should be re-informed about hearing aids not only during infancy, but also during school-age.