PURPOSE: The study aimed to evaluate audiological benefits, quality of hearing and safety of two Bonebridge generation: BCI601 and BCI602 (MED-EL, Innsbruck, Austria) in children. METHODS: Twelve children were implanted: five BCI601 and seven BCI602 comprising of ten conductive hearing loss, and two single sided deaf SSD subjects. Audiological outcomes tested were sound field audiometry, functional gain, speech recognition threshold (SRT50), speech recognition in noise (SPRINT) and localisation abilities. Subjective measures were Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ12). RESULTS: The mean FG with the BCI601 was 25.0 dB and with the BCI602 28.0 dB. The benefit in SRT50 was 23.2 dB and 33.8 dB, respectively. The mean benefit in SPRINT was 15% and 6.7% and the localisation ability improved from 33.3° to 16° and from 26.2° to 17.6°, respectively. The two SSD subjects reported a FG of 17 dB, a benefit in SRT50 of 22.5 and a benefit in SPRINT of 20%. Subjective outcomes improved significantly and even exceeded the values of their age-and sex matched normal hearing peers. One revision was reported: a retroauricular emphysema above the implant occurred 12 months post-OP, it was resolved operatively with the implant still being functional. CONCLUSION: The pediatric cohort reports significant audiological benefit, even exceeding that of the age- and sex matched control. The combination of the high safety and audiological benefit makes the Bonebridge a comfortable and effective option in hearing rehabilitation in children.
- MeSH
- Child MeSH
- Bone Conduction MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Speech Perception * MeSH
- Hearing Loss, Conductive surgery MeSH
- Hearing MeSH
- Hearing Aids * MeSH
- Hearing Tests MeSH
- Treatment Outcome MeSH
- Check Tag
- Child MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
This study aims to investigate the changes in atmospheric deposition trends in Bulgaria, studied using the moss biomonitoring technique since 1995. For the first time, a paired (site-wise) comparison was performed after a critical review of the sampling networks and adjusting for location, the distance between the sampling points, and moss species. Data from the 2005/2006 and 2015/2016 moss surveys were chosen as instrumental neutron activation analysis was employed in both to determine the content of 34 elements (Al, As, Ba, Br, Са, Ce, Cl, Со, Cr, Cs, Fe, Hf, I, K, La, Mn, Na, Nd, Ni, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, Ti, Tm, U, V, W, Yb, Zn). In addition, Cd, Cu, and Pb were determined using complementary analytical methods: inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy in 2015/2016 and atomic absorption spectroscopy in 2005/2006. For the subset of 57 routinely sampled locations in Bulgaria, hierarchical clustering on principal components and multiple factor analysis (MFA) were applied to assess the spatial trends in the 10 years elapsed between the surveys, as well as to characterise the origin of the determined elements. Elevation and distance between the sampling points were used as additional variables in the multiple factor analysis plane to ascertain their effect on the overall variance in the datasets. Distribution maps were constructed to illustrate the deposition patterns for the pollutant Pb. The results were consistent with decreased industrial output in the country, increased coal combustion and transport pollution, and construction of roads.
- MeSH
- Bryophyta * MeSH
- Air Pollutants analysis MeSH
- Environmental Monitoring MeSH
- Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
- Trace Elements analysis MeSH
- Metals, Heavy analysis MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Review MeSH
- Geographicals
- Bulgaria MeSH
