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International Journal of Audiology Volume 59, 2020 - Issue 7
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Original Articles

Audiological outcome measures with the BONEBRIDGE transcutaneous bone conduction hearing implant: impact of noise, reverberation and signal processing features

Ioan A. CurcaSchool of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; ;National Centre for Audiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada; Correspondence[email protected]
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Vijay ParsaSchool of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; ;National Centre for Audiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada; View further author information
,
Ewan A. MacphersonSchool of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; ;National Centre for Audiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada; View further author information
,
Susan ScollieSchool of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; ;National Centre for Audiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada; View further author information
,
Katherine VansevenantCochlear Implant Program, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON, Canada; View further author information
,
Kim ZimmermanCochlear Implant Program, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON, Canada; View further author information
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Jamie Lewis-TeeterCochlear Implant Program, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON, Canada; View further author information
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Prudence AllenSchool of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; ;National Centre for Audiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada; View further author information
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Lorne ParnesCochlear Implant Program, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON, Canada; ;Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Schulich School of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, CanadaView further author information
&
Sumit AgrawalCochlear Implant Program, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON, Canada; ;Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Schulich School of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, CanadaView further author information
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Pages 556-565 | Received 26 Jan 2018, Accepted 06 Feb 2020, Published online: 18 Feb 2020
 
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Abstract

Objective: To assess the performance of an active transcutaneous implantable-bone conduction device (TI-BCD), and to evaluate the benefit of device digital signal processing (DSP) features in challenging listening environments.

Design: Participants were tested at 1- and 3-month post-activation of the TI-BCD. At each session, aided and unaided phoneme perception was assessed using the Ling-6 test. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) and quality ratings of speech and music samples were collected in noisy and reverberant environments, with and without the DSP features. Self-assessment of the device performance was obtained using the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) questionnaire.

Study sample: Six adults with conductive or mixed hearing loss.

Results: Average SRTs were 2.9 and 12.3 dB in low and high reverberation environments, respectively, which improved to −1.7 and 8.7 dB, respectively with the DSP features. In addition, speech quality ratings improved by 23 points with the DSP features when averaged across all environmental conditions. Improvement scores on APHAB scales revealed a statistically significant aided benefit.

Conclusions: Noise and reverberation significantly impacted speech recognition performance and perceived sound quality. DSP features (directional microphone processing and adaptive noise reduction) significantly enhanced subjects’ performance in these challenging listening environments.

Note

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Steve Beaulac for assisting in software development and David Grainger for his support with the equipment setup and maintenance. Portions of this manuscript were presented as “Audiological Outcome Measures with Transcutaneous Bone Conduction Hearing Implants” at the 14th international conference on cochlear implants (CI 2016) on May 14, 2016 in Toronto, Canada.

Notes

1 Note that Amadé fitting software uses the “speech and noise management” label for noise reduction.

Additional information

Funding

The funding for this research was generously provided by the HEARRING Group and the London Health Sciences Foundation.

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