BAHA or not??

[Stephanie]

For those of you with a BAHA device, what made you decide to get one? Was your hearing in your "good" ear not so good? My doctor said very few of his patients persue the BAHA after surgery. I have SSD but the hearing in my right it is very good. I can hear most things depending on the backround noise but I do have trouble with directional hearing which my doctor said the BAHA would help. I am only 8 mo. post op. so I don't know that I am even ready for it but I was just curious on if it makes that much of a difference when there is absoultely no hearing in that side to begin with.

[rupert]

 Stephanie,
                     I don't have a BAHA device so I can't offer advice as to whether it would help or not,   but the reason I have not pursued this avenue
yet,   is that my hearing is very good opposite the AN side.   I can hear most everything in most situations with one good ear.   My personal take is,   as long as
I can get by 90% of the time with one good ear I'll wait.  Down the road my thinking might change,  but I know that technologies will improve also,   so waiting
for me right now is a good option.   About the only problem that bothers me sometime is the directionality loss,   but I have learned to deal with that as best i can.
Some will say the BAHA helps with direction and others say it doesn't help.  I'm sure there will be other opinions on this,  but that's my story.  Good luck. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                 Bryan

[moe]

Hi Stephanie,
I love my BAHA and others will chime in too. The fact that you can hear on a deaf side is amazing. It is not the normal kind of hearing, but it makes a BIG difference in talking in small groups. It doesn't help me in large groups though, and honestly doesn't help with directionality. The hearing in the "good" ear has to be real good so the sound can go across via bone.

Maybe just wait and see how things go. No rush. It IS an easy procedure and is done in and out surgery or even doctor clinic.

I'd give it a thumbs up
Maureen

[ombrerose4]

Hi,

I also love my Baha!  It helps me hear better and is especially noticeable when I am outside. And for me it definitely helps with directionality

[Brewers7]

I opted for the Transear instead because my insurance would not cover either one and Transear was substantially less expensive and did not require surgery.  You can test drive the BAHA by wearing it on a headband.  Check with your ENT/Audiologist. 

[leapyrtwins]

Definitely BAHA 

I was so impressed with the demo in my neurotologist's office (9 months post AN op) that I couldn't wait to get it.  After I started wearing one, I was so impressed that I became a Cochlear volunteer so I could tell others just how great the BAHA is. 

The implant surgery is something I've never regretted and I just celebrated my 3rd implant anniversary.

Like you, I have very good hearing in my "good" ear (100%) and I've found that the BAHA makes an incredible difference.  I was totally miserable being SSD.

Lots of doctors have no concept of how well the BAHA works for their patients unless a) they wear one themselves or b) their patients tell them.  When I was considering the surgery my doc told me that he'd implanted over 200 BAHAs and that only 1 of his patients was unhappy with the results.  That spoke volumes to me (no pun intended).  I figured with odds that good, I couldn't go wrong.

The BAHA generally won't give you directionality but some of us gain it as time goes on.  I've found that I have it - or least think I do.

The implant surgery is a piece of cake - done on a outpatient basis; I even had mine with local anesthesia while wide awake.   My doc does use general anesthesia if a patient wants that.

The BAHA isn't for everyone, but I chose it because I was impressed by the demo, I felt I was too young to not do something about my SSD, and I didn't want to wear something in my ear (like a TransEar).

If you have any other questions - or concerns - don't hesitate to ask them on the Forum or feel free to PM me.

Best,

Jan