Summary
Bone-conduction hearing devices (BCHDs) transmit vibration through the skull to an aidable cochlea. They bypass conductive loss; they cannot replace absent cochlear or neural function.
Indications: conductive/mixed loss with useful cochlear reserve; or routing sound from a profoundly deaf ear to the opposite functioning cochlea. In single-sided deafness, routing reduces head shadow but does not recreate binaural hearing.
Consider a BCHD when conventional amplification cannot be worn or gives insufficient benefit, after comparing hearing-restoration surgery and other implant options. Assess within the hearing-implant MDT.