To compare the effectiveness of implanted and non-implanted hearing solutions on subjective hearing disability and health-related quality of life in adults with acquired single-sided deafness.

This systematic review adhered to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines and was registered in the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. Multiple databases were searched from January 1965 to October 2025 for studies reporting patient-reported hearing disability and health-related quality of life utility measures with cochlear implants, bone-conduction devices and contralateral routing of signal hearing aids as single-sided deafness treatments.

Pooled analysis of 13 studies (403 participants) demonstrated improved hearing disability scores with implanted solutions compared with no intervention [mean difference = −14.71 (95% CI: −23.48, −5.93), p < 0.00001]. Non-implanted bone-conduction devices demonstrated lower hearing disability than contralateral routing of signal aids [mean difference = 4.70 (95% CI: 0.27, 9.14); p = 0.04]. Cochlear implants significantly improved health-related quality of life compared with no hearing solution [mean difference = 0.21 (95% CI: 0.10, 0.31); p = 0.0001].

Single-sided deafness patients reported greater mean hearing-related improvement with implanted than non-implanted hearing solutions.

This study presents a retrospective single-centre clinical comparison of the bone-anchored hearing aid BAHA Connect and BAHA Attract systems with long-term follow-up data spanning 12 years.

The manuscript evaluates audiological outcomes, complication profiles and revision surgery rates associated with both systems in a cohort of 43 patients.

Our findings provide clinically relevant information regarding hearing gain relative to pre-operative bone-conduction thresholds and offer a re-evaluation of previously reported analytical approaches in the literature.

We believe that these results may contribute to improved clinical decision-making in the selection of implantable bone-conduction hearing devices and may be of interest to clinicians involved in hearing rehabilitation.

The purpose of this single-centre retrospective study was to determine the long-term outcomes of the BIA400 and Ponto Wide, in terms of implant stability, soft tissue reactions, skin thickening and implant loss.

Adults who had the BIA400 or Ponto Wide implanted between January 2013 and December 2023 and had at least two follow-up appointments were included, leading to a cohort of 93 BIA400 and 114 Ponto Wide implants.

Significantly more soft tissue reactions with a Holgers Scale score of 1 or greater (p = 0.003), adverse soft tissue reactions of Holgers Scale score of 2 or greater (p = 0.018), skin thickening (p < 0.001) and skin thickening requiring treatment (p ≤ 0.001) occurred in the BIA400 group. No difference in implant stability was found. One BIA400 implant (1.1 per cent) and three Ponto Wide implants (2.7 per cent) were lost.

Both implants have excellent implant stability and similar implant survival rates. The Ponto Wide has favourable outcomes in terms of (adverse) soft tissue reaction and skin thickening (requiring treatment).

Cochlear implantation has transformed management of children with severe to profound hearing loss but the influence of residual hearing on outcomes remains debatable.

This ambispective study analysed 48 prelingually deaf children aged 3–8 years to evaluate auditory, speech and language outcomes following unilateral cochlear implantation. Participants were grouped based on presence of residual hearing and tracked up to 3 years post implantation.

Early improvements in auditory and speech perception were significantly higher in candidates with residual hearing but equalised by 12 months. Language outcomes initially favoured RH group with no significant difference beyond 18 months. Owing to gradual development of language, it remained below age-appropriate levels. Parental satisfaction scores were consistently better in RH group, driven by early post-implantation gains.

Residual hearing positively impacts early outcomes in cochlear implant recipients but influence diminishes over time.

To compare the sound localisation abilities of bimodal cochlear implant and bilateral cochlear implant users.

A horizontal sound source discrimination task was conducted with 44 and 20 bimodal and bilateral cochlear implant users, respectively. Paired and two-sample t-tests were performed for paired and unpaired data, respectively.

The root mean square error scores of the bimodal cochlear implant and bilateral cochlear implant users were 75.77 ± 10.49° and 54.39 ± 19.82°, respectively. The bilateral cochlear implant users’ root mean square error score was significantly better than that of the bimodal cochlear implant users (t = 5.65, p < 0.001). The root mean square error scores of bimodal cochlear implant users with good and poor low-frequency hearing were 75.45 ± 11.07° and 76.10 ± 10.14°, respectively, with no significant intergroup difference (t = 0.20, p = 0.84).

Bilateral cochlear implantation may be more helpful for sound localisation in patients with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The better low-frequency hearing threshold of the non-implanted ears did not result in better sound localisation ability in bimodal cochlear implant users.

Bone-conduction hearing devices provide good hearing outcomes for conductive/mixed hearing losses. Complications post-insertion can lead to additional procedures. Identifying factors that may increase likelihood of developing complications can mitigate risk and inform patients.

A retrospective cohort analysis of 166 adults receiving bone-anchored hearing aid connect operations from 2016–2021 was performed assessing complication rate and contributing factors causing revision procedures.

Twenty-nine per cent of patients had post-operative complications. In total, 17.5 per cent needed additional procedures. Skin overgrowth/infection, granulation and traumatic extrusion were most common reasons. No difference was found in complication rate between different surgical techniques, surgeon grade or general versus local anaesthetic. More complications were observed in decreasing age, male gender and severity of skin reaction.

Revision procedure and complication rates are similar to those reported in published literature. Patient characteristics are important in identifying those likely to develop complications. Non-patient factors did not seem to affect complication rate.

The aim of this study was to compare the internet and social media use of teenagers with hearing loss with that of their normal hearing peers.

The study included 27 hearing-impaired and 27 normal-hearing peers (12–18 years). The Social Media Attitude Scale, the Internet Use Purposes Scale, University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale and the Problematic Internet Use Scale were used to compare hearing-loss and normal-hearing groups.

The social isolation subscale and Social Media Attitude Scale total score differed between groups (p = 0.001 and p = 0.048, respectively). Internet Use Purposes Scale education subscale differences were statistically significant (p = 0.042). Negative consequences (p = 0.007), excessive use (p = 0.021) and Problematic Internet Use Scale total score (p = 0.005) differed significantly. The University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale had a moderate negative connection with the Problematic Internet Use Scale's social benefit/comfort subscale and total score (r = 0.369, p = 0.006 and r = −0.309, p = 0.023, respectively).

While adolescents with hearing loss have limited online educational resources, problematic internet use is a concern. When overused, the internet can reduce loneliness, but it can also have harmful consequences.

Despite a lot of scientific advancements in otology, canal wall-down mastoidectomy is still considered to be the standard of care in the management of extensive cholesteatoma. To avoid large cavity related problems, mastoid obliteration has been described in the literature for many decades. Controversy prevails among otologists regarding the materials used for obliteration. This study aimed to evaluate the results of mastoid obliteration and reconstruction of posterior meatal wall after mastoidectomy using ready-to-use, self-setting hydroxyapatite bone cement.

Retrospective analysis was performed of all consecutive patients who underwent canal wall down mastoidectomies and primary mastoid obliteration with ready-to-use, self-setting hydroxyapatite bone cement. Minimum follow-up was 1 year. Primary Outcome measures include need for explantation and post-operative complications.

Total of 26 patients were included in the study. Only one patient required complete explantation. All patients acquired dry cavities in the final follow-up. Few minor complications including external auditory canal granulations and post-aural wound dehiscence. There was no cholesteatoma recidivism.

Ready-to-use, self-setting hydroxyapatite bone cement serves the purpose of mastoid obliteration. In addition, it is time efficient and requires less expertise. It has excellent outcomes in terms of cholesteatoma recidivism. We recommend further research in this area with a large cohort.

This study aimed to translate and validate the Attitude towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire into the Arabic language and explore attitudes of working-age adults towards their hearing loss and hearing aids.

A cross-sectional investigation was conducted of 237 middle-aged Jordanians (18-65 years old) who have hearing loss using an online questionnaire during the period of October to December 2023.

The specialized experts in the field had an 88 per cent acceptance rate on all items of the Attitude towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire. Five factors were loaded and explained a total of 58.37 per cent, confirming the validity of the Attitude towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire Arabic version. All subscales of the Attitude towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire surpass the normal values of Cronbach alpha. Several predictors of attitude towards loss of hearing were noted, including educational level, age, family members, income and marital status.

Addressing barriers to hearing aid use, such as psychosocial and economic, can improve hearing support and increase healthcare focus and collaboration among clinicians and stakeholders globally.

Children with single-sided deafness often receive inconsistent clinical recommendations because there is currently no clear best practice in paediatric single-sided deafness. This systematic review of the literature aimed to compare commonly used treatments and attempted to support the use of a particular treatment modality.

This was a comprehensive literature review from 1 January 2000 to 22 February 2022; the study compared the outcomes of bone conduction devices and cochlear implantation in paediatric patients with single-sided deafness.

Fifteen studies consisting of 202 patients were examined. Variables including speech reception in quiet and noise, as well as quality of life measures were compared. Both cochlear implantation and bone-anchored hearing aids demonstrated benefits in sound perception. Quality of life measures improved with both modalities.

Although both bone-anchored hearing aids and cochlear implantation appear to provide significant improvements, additional research with more direct comparisons is needed to provide more decisive results.

To assess hearing rehabilitation in patients with congenital aural atresia using an active middle-ear implant (Vibrant Soundbridge).

Of a cohort of 70 microtia and atresia patients, 10 underwent Vibrant Soundbridge implantation between 2008 and 2021. Two of the 10 patients had binaural implantation, resulting in 12 ears for analysis. Pre- and post-operative audiometry data were analysed, and patient satisfaction was evaluated. Surgical issues regarding coupling sites and outcomes were analysed.

Pure tone average (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz) improved from a pre-operative mean (standard deviation) of 65.3 (8.7) dB HL to a post-operative mean of 26.8 (4.9) dB HL. This resulted in a mean pure tone average gain of 38.5 dB HL. The results indicate no obvious difference between stapes (n = 8) and incus (n = 4) coupling. The mean effective gain for 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz was −17.8 dB HL (standard deviation = 4.3). Concerning effective gain, Vibrant Soundbridge performed best at 2 kHz. Patients reported high overall satisfaction, good sound quality and strongly improved directional hearing.

An active middle-ear implant (Vibrant Soundbridge) allows hearing rehabilitation in selected atretic ears, and provides long-term hearing stability in children and adults.

Osia is a new, transcutaneous, active bone-conduction implant. This study aimed to compare the BAHA Attract and the first-generation Osia system after BAHA Attract to Osia conversion surgery.

Five patients who had previously used the BAHA Attract system were converted to the first generation of the Osia system. Surgical aspects of the two different systems, audiological performance and subjective opinions of the patients were investigated. Pure tone audiometry and speech audiometry in quiet was performed with each patient's BAHA 5 sound processor on Attract, and the test battery was repeated six weeks after the Attract to Osia conversion and at different time points after the first fitting. Details of the surgery and patients' feedback were analysed.

Audiology tests showed significant improvement when using either system; however, the Osia system performance was better. Based on patient feedback, all the five implantees preferred the Osia system.

The study results suggest that the Osia system is a safe and powerful hearing implant that provides good clinical outcomes.

This study aimed to evaluate hearing outcomes and device safety in a large, single-surgeon experience with the totally implantable active middle-ear implants.

This was a retrospective case series review of 116 patients with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss undergoing implantation of active middle-ear implants.

Mean baseline unaided pure tone average improved from 57.6 dB before surgery to 34.1 dB post-operatively, signifying a mean gain in pure tone average of 23.5 dB (p = 0.0002). Phonetically balanced maximum word recognition score improved slightly from 70.5 per cent to 75.8 per cent (p = 0.416), and word recognition score at a hearing level of 50 dB values increased substantially from 14.4 per cent to 70.4 per cent (p < 0.0001). Both revision and explant rates were low and dropped with increasing surgeon experience over time.

This study showed excellent post-operative hearing results with active middle-ear implants with regard to pure tone average and word recognition score at a hearing level of 50 db. Complication rates in this case series were significantly lower with increasing experience of the surgeon. Active middle-ear implants should be considered in appropriate patients with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss who have struggled with conventional amplification and are good surgical candidates.

The occurrence of retained ear mould impression material is rare and can lead to complications. The current case report describes one such complication, where the silicone impression material used to take the impression of the ear canal flowed into the middle ear through the pre-existing tympanic membrane perforation. Five days later, the patient presented with worsened hearing and blood-tinged discharge from the ear. Ear microscopy revealed a greenish foreign body in the middle ear.

The foreign body was removed by tympanotomy and the perforation repaired using a temporalis fascia graft. A hearing aid was prescribed after ensuring that the perforation had healed.

It is essential that the audiologist perform a basic otological examination before prescribing a hearing aid and preparing an ear mould. A clinical approach algorithm for audiologists, for prior to taking an impression, is suggested.

The audiological benefits of a bone conducting hearing implant are well documented; however, there is a paucity of literature comparing pre- and post-operative quality of life benefits. This study assessed the quality of life status before and after the device is implanted.

A prospective study was conducted of all adult bone conducting hearing implants inserted in a teaching hospital between 2012 and 2017. All patients completed the Glasgow Health Status Inventory, a validated quality of life questionnaire, before and three to six months after implantation.

Sixty-two patients received a unilateral bone conducting hearing implant. All scores except the social score improved post-operatively. The paired t-test showed that the differences in the means for the Glasgow Health Status Inventory total, general and physical scores were statistically significant at the 5 per cent level (p < 0.0001).

This study, one of the few to assess quality of life pre- and post-implantation, showed a vast improvement in patients’ perceived quality of life from the pre- to the post-operative phase.

This study aimed to evaluate surgical and functional outcomes, in a tertiary referral centre, of two different types of semi-implantable transcutaneous bone conduction devices.

This study involved prospective data collection and review of patients implanted between November 2014 and December 2016. Glasgow Hearing Aid Inventory (Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile or Glasgow Hearing Aid Difference Profile) and Client Oriented Scale of Improvement were completed where appropriate. Surgical and audiological outcomes were recorded in the surgical notes.

Glasgow Hearing Aid Difference Profile and Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile showed similar mean score in the active and the passive transcutaneous bone conduction devices. Client Oriented Scale of Improvement showed improvements in listening situations. Post-operative speech reception threshold showed better mean threshold in the active transcutaneous bone conduction devices group when compared with the passive transcutaneous bone conduction devices group. No device failures or surgical complications existed in either group, with the surgical time being less in the passive transcutaneous bone conduction devices group.

Both devices are reliable semi-implantable transcutaneous bone conduction devices with excellent surgical and functional outcomes and patient satisfaction. Overall surgical time was much less in the passive transcutaneous bone conduction devices group with no necessity for pre-planning. This is much easier to remove with the possibility of conversion to other devices in the manufacturer’s portfolio and wide-ranging wireless accessories. Further studies are needed to assess the longer-term results in a bigger population.

To compare soft-tissue complications following implantation of different bone conduction hearing devices.

Adults who underwent implantation of different bone conduction hearing devices, between January 2008 and December 2016, were included in the study. Five groups were identified depending on the soft-tissue approach: (1) split-thickness skin flap with use of dermatome; (2) Sheffield ‘S’-shaped incision with skin thinning; (3) linear incision without skin thinning (hydroxyapatite-coated abutment); (4) ‘C’-shaped full-thickness incision for passive transcutaneous bone conduction hearing devices; and (5) post-aural incision for active transcutaneous bone conduction hearing devices. The main outcome measures were different soft-tissue complications.

The study comprised 120 patients (group 1 = 20 patients, group 2 = 35, group 3 = 35, group 4 = 20, and group 5 = 10). Soft tissue related problems were encountered in 55 per cent of patients from group 1, 26 per cent in group 2, 3 per cent in group 3, and 0 per cent in groups 4 and 5.

There was a reduction in soft tissue related complications with reduced soft-tissue handling. In addition, there was a shift from an initial skin-penetrating (percutaneous) approach to a non-skin-penetrating (transcutaneous) approach.