An intra-individual comparison of the previous conventional hearing aid with the bone-anchored hearing aid: The Nijmegen group questionnaire.

By spring 2000, a total of 351 patients were implanted in the Birmingham bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) programme. This group consisted of 242 adults and 109 children. The aim of this retrospective questionnaire study was to directly assess patient satisfaction with their current bone-anchored hearing aid in comparison with their previous conventional air and/or bone-conduction hearing aids. The Nijmegen group questionnaire was sent by post to 312 patients who used their BAHA for six months or longer. The questionnaire used was first described by Mylanus et al. (Nijmegen group) in 1998. The total response rate was 72 per cent (227 of 312 patients). The bone-anchored hearing aid was found to be significantly superior to prior conventional hearing aids in all respects.