Comparing real-bone measurement microphone and skull simulator measurements for soft headband bone conduction devices in adults

Introduction The use of bone conduction devices has increased in recent years, offering effective solutions for patients with conductive or mixed hearing loss and limited usable hearing unilaterally. This growth necessitates more accurate verification tools to ensure optimal patient outcomes. Methods The real-bone measurement microphone is an innovative technology that enables in-situ verification of various bone conduction device types and is under development by Audioscan. This study presents measurements made using this technology on 10 adults wearing two commercially available soft headband bone conduction devices. Comparable measurements were conducted with the Verifit Skull Simulator, a commercially available technology for verifying abutment-based bone conduction devices. Force levels recorded with both technologies are compared. Results Results include real-head-to-dial difference and dB force level measurements across various scenarios. Average real-head-to-dial difference values measured using two bone conduction devices differ at most frequencies, while following the same overall trend as frequency changes. For the dB force level results obtained from the real-bone measurement microphone and Verifit Skull Simulator, the Pearson correlation between these two devices is consistently greater than 0.87, and the root mean square error varies between 6 to 12 dB across different test scenarios. The potential sources of differences between the two devices are analyzed and discussed in this paper. Conclusion Findings provide insights into the performance characteristics of both technologies, demonstrating that the real-bone measurement microphone is a promising tool for expanding clinical verification capabilities across a wide range of bone conduction devices.