bone conduction auditory performance via the tooth for single-sided deafness

Conditions: Unilateral Hearing Loss

Summary: the purpose of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of using bone conduction via the teeth to treat single-sided deafness (ssd).

the sonitus bone conduction device (bcd) is a bone conduction device for single-sided deafness (ssd). the sonitus bcd consists of an oral appliance (oa), an external microphone component, worn behind the ear (bte), a calibration interface cable and a pc-controlled calibration software for subject calibration. the sonitus bcd picks up sounds from a microphone located within the ear canal of the deaf ear, capitalizing on the acoustics of the natural pinna and ear canal. the signal picked up by the microphone is then transmitted wirelessly to a removeable bone conduction oral appliance located on the upper molars. the oral appliance receives the acoustic signal from the bte and applies an equivalent vibratory signal to the teeth that reaches the skull via bone conduction and routed transcranially to the contralateral cochlea.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * must be \>18, \< 80 years old * must be fluent in english, as determined by the pi * must not be a member of a vulnerable group (irb defined) * must remain in geographic area during duration of the study * diagnosis of acquired ssd (section 3.1), time since onset (≥3 mos) * must have a minimum of 6 posterior teeth remaining in the upper arch (3 teeth per side),third molars are acceptable if healthy, fully erupted and substituting for second molars exclusion criteria: * must not be current users of devices such as baha, cros or transear * must not have known active medical causes of ssd: * active middle ear pathology * conductive hl (otosclerosis, otitis media, otitis externa and others) * sudden hearing loss that is not stable * must not have known medical problems that might be life-threatening or is a contraindication for elective dental or medical procedures * must not have known problems that may interfere with the impression procedure, such as inability to breath through nose (e.g. severe flu, allergies or cold) * must not have allergies to polymers * must not have known dental abnormalities: * temporary crowns or undergoing dental treatment * poor oral hygiene and/or rampant decay * current orthodontics * active caries in one or more of the possible abutment teeth for the device * active moderate to severe periodontal disease around abutment teeth for the device * suspicious oral/facial lesions or swelling of any type * severe pain on palpation on any area of mouth, face or neck * moderate to severe heat sensitivity on any of the upper teeth * subject currently being treated for temporomandibular joint disorder (tmj), pain, full mouth reconstruction or posterior dental implants * must not have known audiological conditions: * conductive hearing loss (air-bone gap \>10db hl at more than 3 frequencies) * word recognition scores inconsistent with pure tone averages * fluctuating hearing loss * must not have known psychological factors that interfere with their ability to comply, comprehend, consent and cooperate

Keywords: unilateral hearing loss