The bone-anchored hearing aid in children: a surgical and questionnaire follow-up study.

OBJECTIVES: The main objectives were to evaluate the surgical techniques and problems seen in children with bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHA) as well as to determine the children's attitudes toward BAHA.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study of 41 children with unilateral BAHA was conducted. Surgical recordings were investigated and a questionnaire was distributed.

RESULTS: Surgery was performed as a 2-stage procedure. Available bone thickness was measured in 29 patients and found to be on average 2.5 mm. Thin temporal bone necessitated bone augmentation in 8 patients. Of the implants, 70.5% were installed in contact with the dura or the sigmoid sinus. Implant failures were seen in 9.1% and adverse skin reactions appeared in 7.6% of the patients. Twenty-seven patients responded to the questionnaire, 19 were still BAHA users. Overall, these patients were very content with their BAHAs.

CONCLUSION: BAHA is a good alternative in children despite limited thickness of the temporal bone.