Active middle ear implantation for patients with sensorineural hearing loss and external otitis: long-term outcome in patient satisfaction.

Objective: To study long-term subjective benefit of patients with sensorineural hearing loss and chronic external otitis who use active middle ear implants.

Design: Single-subject repeated measures in a preintervention and postintervention design with multiple postintervention measurements (questionnaires).

Setting: Tertiary academic center.

Patients: Moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss (n = 56) with severe chronic external otitis who use the Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) or Otologics MET middle ear implant systems.

Main Outcome Measure: Changes in hearing disability and handicap as evaluated using the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB), the Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire (NCIQ), and the Glasgow Benefit Inventory (GBI).

Results: Data of 33 patients (mean postoperative duration of 7.5 yr) were available. No difference in subjective results was found between the VSB and Otologics MET patient groups. Total percentage of nonuse was 13%. Long-term APHAB results show a significant decrease in disability for 43% of the patients compared with 54% at 1-year postoperative. NCIQ results show a significant benefit for all subdomains with a negative trend over time. The GBI results show a significant long-term increase in quality of life with positive scores for 82% of the assessed patients.

Conclusion: Long-term postoperative patient satisfaction and quality of life results show a significant difference compared with preoperative measurements, with conventional hearing aids. A negative trend over time is found on all questionnaires, which might reflect patient aging (increase of hearing loss) or habituation to a situation with fewer concerns regarding a patient's external otitis.