Active middle ear implant (vibrant soundbridge) in children with unilateral congenital aural atresia

Abstract

Background

Detailed studies have not been conducted on sound localization and speech perception in noise in patients with unilateral congenital aural atresia (UCAA).

Aims/objectives

To evaluate the benefits of the use of the Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) for UCAA by performing audiometric and sound localization tests.

Materials and methods

Four children with UCAA underwent VSB (VORP 503) implantation from 2018 to 2019. Speech perception tests in noise were conducted using the Japanese monosyllable test. The spatial configuration for speech testing consisted of speech presented from the front and noise presented into the normal ear (S₀N₉₀). The sound localization test was conducted using nine loudspeakers equally distributed in a semicircle.

Results

The children’s speech perception in noise 6 months after VSB activation was significantly better than before activation (p < .05). Additionally, the children’s sound localization ability after VSB activation was significantly better than before VSB activation.

Conclusion and significance

The benefits of VSB use in children with UCAA were revealed using audiometric and sound localization tests.

Chinese abstract

背景：尚未对单侧先天性耳道闭锁（UCAA）患者进行噪音中声音定位和语音感知的详细研究。

目的：通过进行听力和声音定位测试来评估将振动声桥（VSB）用于UCAA的益处。

材料和方法：自2018年至2019年, 四名UCAA儿童接受了VSB（VORP 503）植入。使用日语单音节测验进行了噪声中语音感知测试。语音测试的空间配置包括从前方发出的语音和进入正常耳朵的噪声（S0N90）。使用九个呈半圆形均匀分布的扬声器进行了声音定位测试。

结果：VSB激活后6个月, 儿童在噪声中的言语感知能力明显优于激活前（p <.05）。此外, VSB激活后儿童的声音定位能力明显优于VSB激活前。

结论和意义：通过进行听力和声音定位测试, 揭示了将VSB用于UCAA患儿的益处。

Keywords:

• Active middle ear implant
• Vibrant Soundbridge
• unilateral congenital aural atresia
• sound localization
• speech perception

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.