Bone-Anchored Hearing Aids (BAHAs) for People Who Are Bilaterally Deaf: A Systematic Review and Economic Evaluation
Health Technology Assessment
Colquitt, J. L., Jones, J., et al. (2011).
Health Technology Assessment, 15(26), 1-200, iii-iv.
This systematic review investigates the clinical or cost-effectiveness of bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHAs) for children or adults who are deaf or hard of hearing.
National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme (United Kingdom)
Through November 2009
Randomised controlled trials; controlled clinical trials; prospective cohort analytic studies; prospective cohort one-group pre and post studies; cross-sectional studies; prospective case series
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Findings from this review indicated that BAHAs improve hearing in comparison to unaided hearing. Additionally in many situations, but not all, bilateral BAHAs were superior to unilateral BAHAs.
"There appeared to be some audiological benefits of BAHAs compared with [bone-conduction hearing aids] and improvements in speech understanding in noise compared with [air-conduction hearing aids]; however [air-conduction hearing aids] may produce better audiological results for other outcomes. The limited evidence reduces certainty" (p. iii).
"The results of our cost analysis demonstrate that BAHAs are a significantly more costly strategy than conventional aids for people with bilateral hearing loss. These additional costs are not restricted to the initial process of surgical implantation, followed by the acquisition and fitting of the BAHA sound processor, but will continue while individuals remain using their BAHAs" (pp. 88-89).
Findings suggested that most participants experienced minor or no skin reactions; overall, limited data was available from included studies regarding adverse events.
