Use of cartilage-conduction hearing aids in a child with Crouzon syndrome and meatal atresia

A cartilage-conduction hearing aid (CCHA) transmits sound vibrations to the inner ear via the ear cartilage rather than through air or bone. They can be used in patients with meatal atresia and persistent otorrhea. Unlike bone-conduction hearing aid (BCHA), there is no need for pressure between the transducer and the temporal bone. Effective hearing is achieved by simply bringing the cartilage-conduction transducer into contact with the auricular cartilage. Crouzon syndrome is characterized by craniosynostosis and is associated with a high incidence of meatal atresia, which causes conductive hearing loss. Cranial enlargement surgeries are performed repeatedly during infancy and early childhood to reduce the symptoms of intracranial hypertension. Therefore, BCHA can be difficult to use. We report the case of a child with Crouzon syndrome who required multiple cranial surgeries for craniosynostosis, in whom CCHAs were applied. As a result, his vocabulary development progressed, and after 22 months of using the CCHA, he reached the expected developmental level for his age.