Comparison of two different bone anchored hearing instruments: Baha-5 vs Ponto-plus

Abstract

Background: To our knowledge, there is no study comparing Ponto Plus^® (Oticon Medical AB, Askim, Sweden) and Baha^® 5 (Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions AG, Mölnlycke, Sweden) available in the literature.

Aims/objectives: The primary aim was to compare the performance of the Baha 5 with the Ponto Plus device in terms of speech understanding in quiet and in noise. In addition, to determine statistically whether or not the difference between the abutment systems created any variation in terms of skin reaction.

Materials and methods: Twenty bone-anchored hearing instrument users, ten in each group, were evaluated for speech understanding in quiet and several signal-to-noise ratios using the Turkish Matrix Test in a two-speaker setup. The Holger classifications were also reviewed to determine adverse skin reactions.

Results: It was revealed that the hearing results of both devices were similar and, when the skin reactions were compared, there was no statistically significant difference between the two-implant systems.

Conclusions and significance: Because of the similar results of the groups, it can be interpreted as the key different device features such as the size, weight, colour alternatives, and the ease of use of the devices might be important in terms of device preference.

Chinese abstract

背景：据我们所知, 研究文献中还没有关于比较PontoPlus®（Oticon Medical AB, Askim, Sweden）和Baha®5（Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions AG, ​​Mölnlycke, Sweden）的研究。

目的：主要目的是, 对Baha 5和Ponto Plus设备的功能进行关于在安静和噪音条件下的语音理解方面的比较。另外, 为了用统计学方法来确定这些基牙系统之间的差异是否在皮肤反应方面产生任何变化。

材料和方法：在双扬声器设置下, 用土耳其矩阵测试评估20个骨锚式听力仪使用者（每组10个）, 在安静条件下和若干信-噪比条件下进行的语音理解。还复审了Holger分类系统以确定不良皮肤反应。

结果：两种装置的听力结果相似。并且当比较皮肤反应时, 两种植入系统之间没有统计学上的显著差异。

结论和意义：由于不同组之间的结果相似, 可以认为, 设备特征的主要差异, 如尺寸、重量、颜色选择以及设备的易用性, 可能影响对设备的选择。

Keywords:

• Hearing aid
• noise
• bone conduction hearing
• speech intelligibility

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.