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Auditory performance and self-perception in patients with unilateral microtia and normal contralateral hearing using non-implantable bone conduction system
Auditory performance and self-perception in patients with unilateral microtia and normal contralateral hearing using non-implantable bone conduction system
Pedro Trujillo-Zambrano 1 
, Ma. Eugenia Mena-Ramírez 1 , Zoemara N. Rendón-Guardado 1 , Daniela A. Castillo-Pérez 1 , Francisco A. Luna Reyes 1 , Ana L. Lino-González 2 , Emilio Arch-Tirado 3
1 Servicio de Audiología Pediátrica, Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación Luis Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, México; 2 Área de Neurociencias Clínica, Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación Luis Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, México; 3 Centro Neurológico, Centro Médico ABC Sede Santa Fe, Ciudad de México, México
*Correspondence: Ma. Eugenia Mena-Ramírez. Email: marumenar@gmail.com
Abstract
Background: Patients with unilateral microtia have difficulty discriminating speech even with normal contralateral hearing. Objective: To determine auditory performance in patients with unilateral microtia and normal contralateral hearing using a non-implantable bone conduction device. Material and methods: Cross-sectional, comparative, and analytical study. Twenty-seven patients with unilateral microtia participated. Clinical, sociodemographic, and auditory performance characteristics were obtained. Questionnaires were administered to determine self-perceived comfort and assistance when using the device. Descriptive statistics were performed with measures of central tendency for quantitative variables, frequencies and percentages for qualitative variables. Spearman’s correlation coefficient and Student’s t-test were calculated, considering p < 0.05 a statistical significance. Results: The greatest functional gain was 51.3 ± 10.6 dB at a frequency of 1000 Hz. The speech recognition threshold showed an improvement of 40.19 dB with the device. A positive correlation was found between hours of use and self-perceived help and self-perceived comfort, and a negative correlation between self-perceived comfort and adverse effects. Conclusions: The use of the device is beneficial. Patients showed an increase in functional gain of sounds and also in speech discrimination.
Keywords: Microtia. Non-implantable bone conduction device. Functional gain. Performance in speech audiometry. Self-perception.
