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Mean bone conduction and air conduction thresholds for the study participants demonstrating the hearing loss. The shaded area highlights one standard deviation of the mean.
Source publication
The objective of the current study was to compare the performance of the Cochlear™ Baha® 4 Sound Processor (test) with the Cochlear BP100 (control) sound processor and the unaided condition. Testing was conducted in both a laboratory and at home. Twenty experienced users of bone conduction hearing solutions agreed to participate in the study. Measu...
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Objective:
The role of bilateral bone conduction amplification in patients with bilateral conductive hearing loss is unclear because cranial attenuation is usually considered negligible, and both cochleae can be stimulated with similar efficacy by each device. The aim of the study was to determine if bilateral bone-conduction hearing aids can impr...
Citations
Baha ® 5 Sound Processor. During the 12-month evaluation of audiological performance, 25 separate investigations with over 250 separate subject visits were carried out. The tests were conducted to describe the potential outcome of patients who will receive the sound processor. The investigations focused on audibility, recognition of monosyllabic words in quiet, recognition of sentences in noise, evaluation of the Active Gain feature, subjective ratings of performance and overall preferences. Four investigations of between 10 – 52 experienced patients are summarised in this white paper. Overall, the results indicate an improved hearing experience with respect to sound quality, speech understanding and loudness provided by improved audibility, reduced distortion and improved feedback control. An important final investigation examined the impact of the design where 92.3% (48/52) preferred the Baha 5 Sound Processor to two other designs. Based on the summary of the investigation, it can be concluded that the Baha 5 Sound Processor offers significant advantages in terms of hearing performance and user preferences as compared to other sound processor designs.
Based on user feedback, the development of the Cochlear™ Baha® 5 Systems has focused on three key main challenges based on user feedback; (1) a smaller and more discreet sound processor, (2) an improved hearing experience with a sound processor that adapts to the environment and (3) a simplified user interface with direct connectivity to smartphones. The solution required a total rethink of the transducer design. For the first time, a significant reduction in transducer size was achieved without a consequent reduction in performance. Building on the experience from the Baha 4 Sound Processor, the hearing experience of the user could be further improved by an expansion of the capabilities of the Scene Classification system. Similarly, direct connection, control and personalisation through a mobile phone empowers the user to take further control of their hearing world. How to overcome these challenges is the subject of this Technology Brief.
