Comparison of treatment modalities for single-sided deafness in paediatric patients.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Children with single-sided deafness often receive inconsistent clinical recommendations because there is currently no clear best practice in paediatric single-sided deafness. This systematic review of the literature aimed to compare commonly used treatments and attempted to support the use of a particular treatment modality. METHOD: This was a comprehensive literature review from 1 January 2000 to 22 February 2022; the study compared the outcomes of bone conduction devices and cochlear implantation in paediatric patients with single-sided deafness. RESULTS: Fifteen studies consisting of 202 patients were examined. Variables including speech reception in quiet and noise, as well as quality of life measures were compared. Both cochlear implantation and bone-anchored hearing aids demonstrated benefits in sound perception. Quality of life measures improved with both modalities. CONCLUSION: Although both bone-anchored hearing aids and cochlear implantation appear to provide significant improvements, additional research with more direct comparisons is needed to provide more decisive results.