BAHA & Background Noise

[leeclinton]

I just had my AN removed 6 weeks ago and I'm SSD in left.  I'm considering BAHA but really only feel like I need it when I'm in an environment with a lot of background noise (restaurants, large social gatherings, etc). 
Does the BAHA help with that?

[CHD63]

Hi leeclinton and welcome to this forum .....

As a wearer of a bone-anchored hearing device (mine is an Oticon Medical Ponto Pro) because I am SSD/left, I can honestly say I put my processor on first thing after my shower in the morning and rarely take it off before bedtime ..... every day.  As my audiologist told me, "the more you wear it the better your success will be."  By that she meant that it trains the brain to recognize the sounds coming from your otherwise deaf side and accept the input as normal.

I have found it tremendously helpful, even in noisy environments, especially in being able to hear/understand people talking who are in my close proximity on either side.  Truthfully everyone, even with good hearing in both ears, has a more difficult time hearing in noisy environments.

What happens to me in noisy environments is my tinnitus cranks up to a screaming level sometimes.  Even with that, I can hear much better with the Ponto on than when not on.

Hope that helps.

Clarice

[james e]

It really depends on how good  your remaining ear is. My good ear is pretty bad, and I am awful in noisy rooms...I just nod my head and pretend I hear. The BAHA cannot make your good ear any better than it is. If you have good hearing, a BAHA may be useful in a noisy room. I hope your good ear is great because it is horrible to be deaf or near deaf, and I usually try to avoid crowds. It is very useful in normal circumstances like watching TV, hearing music, talking in a quiet area.

James

[jaylogs]

I find that I benefit from a BAHA in noisy situations...take for example a couple of weeks ago.  I went to a party that my work hosted, and there were several hundred people in a big ballroom type environment.  I started off without wearing the BAHA but found it was REALLY hard to hear anything. So I put it in and wow, what a difference!  I do find sometimes I don't catch EVERYTHING being said, but overall I'd say I am getting over 95%...better than under 50!
Jay

[leapyrtwins]

Lee -

BAHAs and background noise aren't as bad a mix as they used to be.

Four years ago when I got my implant I received a Cochlear Divino which has 1 channel and was okay, but not great, when it came to dealing with background noise.

Two years ago, I upgraded to a Cochlear BP100 (12 channels) and the difference has been amazing.   I should note here that the Oticon Ponto Pro (comparable to the BP100) has 10 channels.  More channels give sounds more places to "go" and help to filter out unwanted sound. 

Hearing "devices" are made to pick up and amplify sound and they aren't always good at distinguishing between what you should be hearing and what should be left out (background noise).  But that said, I've found that the BAHA has been a Godsend both in my personal life and in my "business life". 

No hearing device is perfect - and none of them will bring back your "normal" hearing - but I'm one who had a horrendous time dealing with my SSD and I've never been sorry I opted for a BAHA.

Jan