Sharing the BAHA Experiencd

[dalern]

Hi all,
I have a cousin who is a doctor in Illinois.  He has been in San Diego visiting this past couple of weeks.  He had an AN in 1999 and has been left with SSD.  He tried a hearing aid at one time, and was less than impressed, but of course, it did nothing to filter out the background noise.  I had been telling him about my Baha, but he never seemed too enthusiastic.  I stopped over there today with my BAHA apparatus that allows you to hold the processor against someone else's head so that they can hear what you are hearing.  He was amazed.  His wife was sitting so she could see his face and said that his whole face lit up when he realized he could hear what I was whispering on his deaf side!  He is quite impressed and has decided to pursue his options for a BAHA.  It's so nice to know that perhaps I have helped another person to achieve the improved hearing that I have gained!
~Dale

[sunfish]

Found out last week I have increased hearing loss.  Not nearly a BAHA candidate - right now, I just need to have them fine tune and amp up my hearing aid.  But these positive BAHA stories give me lots of hope, since my docs aren't real hopeful about my hearing in the long run.

[keithk]

I just got home from the follow-up appointment with my doc. I had the abutment screwed in my sull on Nov 18th. Everything is healing nicely. I took my finger nail and scratched the abutment and could hear it very clearly in my good ear. Now I can't wait for Febrary to get here so I can get switched on.

[leapyrtwins]

Dale -

glad your cousin was impressed with the BAHA.

I've "recruited" a lot of people.  I'm as amazed with my BAHA today - almost 3 years after my implant - as I was the day I tried the demo.

Please let us know whether or not your cousin pursues a BAHA.

Best,

Jan

[dalern]

I will let you know and I have already forwarded him the information you sent me about Dr. Battista.  I can't believe some doctor had thought a regular hearing aid would work for someone with SSD.  I was told in 1999 that it would never work because it would not block out the background noise.  I will keep after him because he was truly impressed by what he heard with my BAHA on the little plastic post.  His wife was even more amazed and I think she will keep after him as well.
~Dale

[kawman600]

Does the BAHA help you distinguish where the sound is coming from,I have more trouble with that and get very frustrated-any suggestions?

[dalern]

It depends who you ask.  For most people, probably not.  Jan has had improvement with sound directionality.  I have had a small amount of improvement.  For me it was most important to hear people talking on my deaf side. But sound directionality is very important, and I am happy with the small amount of improvement.
~Dale

[leapyrtwins]

Directionality can be gained over time.  Some find they have it, some find they don't.  I'm not sure why.

As Dale said, I have some directionality.  It's not perfect, but I can tell which side of my body sound is coming from when wearing my BAHA.

Jan