gms | German Medical Science

82nd Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

01.06. - 05.06.2011, Freiburg

Speech discrimination in noise and localisation in unilateral deaf patients using the Baha Intenso or Baha BP100

Meeting Abstract

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. 82nd Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. Freiburg, 01.-05.06.2011. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2011. Doc11hno49

doi: 10.3205/11hno49, urn:nbn:de:0183-11hno499

Published: August 3, 2011

© 2011 Wesarg et al.
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Outline

Text

Introduction: Single-sided deafness reduces the ability to discriminate speech in background noise an to localise sounds. This study aims at investigating these abilities in unilateral deaf patients using the Baha Intenso or BP100 as CROS device.

Methods: So far 8 patients have been included into the study. Speech discrimination in noise was measured using the Hochmair-Schulz-Moser sentence test for the 3 different speech in noise presentation conditions S0N0, S45N-45 and S-45N45 using a sound level of 65 dB SPL for both, speech and noise. Localisation was assessed using an array of 7 speakers at head level separated by 30° azimuth in a frontal semicircle. In localisation tests sentences of the Oldenburg sentence test were used as stimuli and presented at 65 dB SPL.

Results: When speech is presented on the deaf ear and noise on the normal hearing ear speech discrimination with the Intenso and BP100 is superior to the unaided condition. Otherwise, when speech is presented on the normal ear and noise on the deaf ear, speech discrimination is poorer with the Intenso, but similar with the BP100 compared to the unaided condition. The patients show similar moderate localisation abilities in the unaided condition as well as with the Intenso and the BP100.

Conclusion: There is no improvement of localisation in unilateral deaf patients using the Intenso or BP100 compared to the unaided situation which is probably due to the fact that the use of a Baha device doesn't allow proper binaural hearing. However, the use of the BP100 seems to improve speech discrimination in noise compared to the unaided situation, presumably caused by the noise reduction algorithm implemented in the BP100.