Investigation of the usefulness and clinical characteristics of cartilage conduction hearing aids in pediatric patients

Abstract

Although it would be beneficial to examine cartilage conduction hearing aids separately for adults and children, as the indications, reasons for purchase, and prices are different, there are few reports of single hearing aids in children.

In this study, we conducted a review of 68 cases of children under the age of 20 who had been fitted with a cartilage conduction hearing aid. Our objective was to examine the continuation rate, the clinical characteristics of the continuation and return groups, and the effectiveness of the hearing aid in the target population. The overall continue rate was 72%, with 63% in the bilateral atresia/stenotic group, 79% in the unilateral atresia/stenotic group, and 25% in the open ear canal group. The continuation rate demonstrated a tendency to decrease with increasing age. No significant difference was observed in functional gain between the continuation and return groups. The decision to purchase or continue was influenced by several factors, including the effectiveness of the hearing aid, the cost, and the user’s perception of the device. In unilateral cases, an improvement in binaural hearing and sound localization resulted in a higher continuation rate. Conversely, the continue rate was lower in open ear canal cases compared to air conductive hearing aids. This study validates the efficacy of cartilage conduction hearing aids for continuation and return in pediatric cases and underscores the significance of active listening.