Abstract
Objectives: To investigate the hearing outcomes of speech
perception ability and spatial release from masking (SRM) in paediatric
single-sided deafness (SSD) patients aided with a non-invasive bone
conduction hearing aid (BCD).
Design: Speech perception tests were performed using the
Chinese Mandarin Speech Test Materials.
Setting : The experiment was conducted in a sound-attenuated
audiometric booth.
Participants: Seven school-aged children with SSD and a group
of seven age-related normal hearing (NH) children as a comparison group
were included.
Main outcome measures: Speech perception in quiet was measured
using the speech discrimination score (SDS, in %). Speech perception in
noise was tested with the speech reception threshold (SRT, in dB
signal-to-noise ratio [SNR]). SRM was calculated as the difference
in SRT between when the masking of SSN was Co-located and when it was
spatially separated from the target speech signals.
Results: The results
confirmed that children with
normal bilateral hearing experienced greater speech perception ability
and SRM than those with SSD. BCDs remarkably improved speech perception
ability in quiet and noise for those with SSD, but there was no
statistical improvement of SRM after short-term use. For NH school-aged
children, SRM continued to change with age.
Conclusion: The outcomes demonstrated substantial benefits in
speech perception ability for SSD patients aided with BCDs. Further
studies with longer follow-up periods are needed to explore whether SRM
can be improved by hearing adaptation.