The candidate for bone conduction hearing aid (conventional headband type) rather than a conventional air conduction behind-the-ear hearing aid would be a patient with:

• A Moderate sensorineural hearing loss with intact external auditory canals
• B Unilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss with normal contralateral ear
• C Bilateral atresia of the external auditory canals with normal cochlear reserve ✓
• D Age-related sensorineural hearing loss (presbycusis)

Explanation

Bone conduction hearing aids are indicated when conventional air conduction aids cannot be worn due to absence of the ear canal (bilateral microtia/atresia), chronic discharge (otorrhoea makes insertion of an earmold impossible), or malformation of the pinna. In bilateral external auditory canal atresia with normal cochlear function, sound delivered via bone conduction bypasses the absent external canal and ossicular chain, stimulating the cochlea directly. BAHA (osseointegrated) is the superior option, but conventional bone conduction aids on a headband are used in infants before osseointegration is possible.

Reference: Dhingra Diseases of Ear, Nose and Throat, 7th ed.

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Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.