Department of Audiology Faculty Articles
Title
Verification of Speech Spectrum Audibility for Pediatric Baha Softband Users with Craniofacial Anomalies
ResearchID/ORCID ID
0000-0001-6770-4377, 0000-0002-9662-1092
ISBN or ISSN
1545-1569
Volume
48
Issue
1
Publication Date / Copyright Date
2011
First Page
56
Last Page
65
Publisher
SAGE Publishing
DOI Number
10.1597/08-178
Abstract
Objective
The purpose of this study was (1) to determine benefit of the Baha Softband coupled to the Softband for infants and children with bilateral conductive hearing loss; and (2) to verify audibility of the speech spectrum for octave frequencies 500 through 4000 Hz.
Design
The research design for this retrospective chart study is pretest-posttest repeated measures.
Setting
The study was conducted in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, Arkansas Children's Hospital.
Participants
Twenty-five children aged 6 months to 18 years with craniofacial disorders and bilateral conductive hearing loss participated in the study. Participants were consistent, full-time unilateral Baha users with the Baha Compact bone-conduction amplifier coupled to the head via the Softband.
Interventions
The intervention was the Baha device coupled to the head via the Softband as a prerequisite to surgical implantation.
Main Outcome Measure(s)
The primary study outcome measures used aided and unaided soundfield audiometric thresholds to calculate functional gain. Audibility of the speech spectrum was verified by comparison with target aided thresholds.
Results
Results revealed an improvement in soundfield thresholds with Baha amplification for the four octave frequencies. Means, standard deviations, and confidence intervals for aided and unaided thresholds are reported. Percentages of thresholds meeting target levels were significant at all frequencies, exceeding the 80% criterion.
Conclusions
Benefit of the Baha in providing audibility of the speech spectrum for infants and children with bilateral congenital conductive hearing loss has been demonstrated, offering important and timely data supporting third-party reimbursement.
Disciplines
Communication Sciences and Disorders | Medicine and Health Sciences | Speech and Hearing Science | Speech Pathology and Audiology
Keywords
bilateral conductive hearing loss, children, craniofacial disorders, infants, speech spectrum
NSUWorks Citation
Nicholson, Nannette; Christensen, Lisa; Dornhoffer, John; Martin, Patti; and Smith-Olinde, Laura, "Verification of Speech Spectrum Audibility for Pediatric Baha Softband Users with Craniofacial Anomalies" (2011). Department of Audiology Faculty Articles. 58.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_aud_facarticles/58
