Other hearing implants for children
If your child has a conductive hearing loss, for example due to malformation of the external auditory canal, bone conduction implants can be a solution.
If your child has mixed hearing loss (both a conductive and a sensorineural hearing loss), both middle ear implants and bone conduction implants are suitable, depending on the type of hearing loss.
Bone conduction devices can be considered both if the child has a bilateral hearing loss or a unilateral hearing loss.
Typically, children over 5 years of age can receive both bone conduction implants and middle ear implants.
Younger children
Younger children with conductive hearing loss can be treated with non-surgical bone conduction systems. These systems directly stimulate the inner ear via bone conduction without requiring surgery. It is important that children get a hearing device as early as possible and there are several user-friendly options to wearing a bone conduction device without surgery/an operation. It is however important that the child is evaluated for surgery as soon as possible. This is because the child will lose 10-20 dB especially in the high frequencies that are very important for speech understanding and learning abilities.
Who to contact?
If you think your child may benefit from bone conduction implants or middle ear implants, you should start by contacting an ENT-doctor or an audiologist.
Read more:
Children and hearing implants
Is my child a candidate for a cochlear implant?
Rehabilitation for a child with hearing implants
Growing up with implants
Going to school with hearing implants