Benefits of Bilateral Bone Conduction Device Use Including Osia Devices in Children and Adolescents With Bilateral Atresia.
Robel Z Alemu, Alan Blakeman, Jaina Negandhi and 3 others
PMID 41706603WHAT IT FOUND
Bilateral bone conduction devices improved speech in noise and stationary sound localization compared to unilateral use, but moving sound perception and head movement strategies remained impaired.
Children still self-reported significant spatial hearing challenges.
Key findings
01Word recognition scores were better with bilateral devices than either the left or right device alone, and declines in noise were smaller with bilateral than unilateral devices.
02Localization accuracy for stationary sound improved with bilateral devices compared to unilateral listening, with reduced root mean square error and better reliability.
03Perception of moving sound direction remained significantly impaired compared to controls, with only a non-significant trend toward improvement when using bilateral devices versus the left device alone.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was very small (11 participants), and three children did not complete speech reception threshold testing due to time constraints. Localization was tested only in the frontal horizontal plane up to ±60°, so performance in complex real-world environments with elevation and peripheral sources is unknown. Eye tracking was not collected, so it is unclear whether head movements were compensatory or unrelated to spatial hearing. Daily device use patterns were not measured, so the extent to which children actually wear both devices in real life is unknown. The study was cross-sectional and did not track whether spatial hearing abilities change with longer experience using bilateral devices.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources are reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that bilateral bone conduction devices restore normal spatial hearing. The study found that perception of moving sound remained significantly impaired compared to typical hearing, and self-reported spatial challenges persisted even with bilateral devices.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →