Baha vs two hearing aids

[william5822]

at my husbands 10 month appt today they suggested hearing aids.
The Cochlear Baha 4 Attract System (magnet)...the Baha 4 Connect system (Screw) or to just wear two hearing aids.

I was reading a few posts and am now second guessing the magnet Baha that we originally was thinking about?!!?
Now I'm not sure what to suggest to my husband. Has anyone done the two hearing aids and liked it okay? He does were glasses and hard hats at work. He can function without but we were hoping to make things a little easier for him if possible.

[arizonajack]

To what extent has his hearing been affected?

[CHD63]

Hi william5822 .....

So glad your husband's 10-month MRI was stable.  That is great news!

As for hearing aids:  if your husband is totally deaf on his AN side, the options are for a bone-conducted system or a trans-ear system because he will need to have the sounds coming in from his deaf side transferred to his good hearing side.  That being said, the choice of which type from the options is very individual.

Basically he has the choice of 1) a baha (bone anchored hearing assist) type (Oticon Medical or Cochlear), both of which involve the implanting of an abutment; 2) a sound-bite type where the person wears a receiver (like a regular behind the ear hearing aid) in the deaf ear and a specially made dental appliance in the mouth to conduct the sound to the bone; or 3) one of the cross ears types, in which aids are worn in both ears, and the sound is sent via wi-fi to the good ear.  Hope all of that makes sense.

Beyond that he needs to check with an audiologist who knows about all of these types and get that person's recommendation for what is best for your husband, given his work environment, personal preference, etc.

Let us know what you find out.

Clarice

[leapyrtwins]

Have not heard real positive things about the new magnetic BAHA.  If it were me, I think I'd go with the conventional implant.

Actually, that's what I have (Cochlear brand) and I love it. 

I started out with a Divino and upgraded to a BP100 when it came out.  At the time I received my implant - and still to this day- the hearing in my non-AN ear was 100%

I asked my neurotologist what I would need to do if the hearing in my non-AN ear ever diminished and he said he felt a more powerful BAHA processor (an Intenso at that time) would be the way to go.  He felt it would be strong enough and that I wouldn't need a second BAHA or a hearing aid.

Obviously everyone is different, so you'd need to ask your husband's doc if that might work for him.

As far as your husband wearing glasses and hard hats, you can ask the doc doing the implant surgery is he/she can place it to accommodate the glasses and hard hat.  Most docs will so do if possible.  The implant just has to be placed in a spot on the skull that is dense enough to "handle" it.  My implant site is directly over my AN surgery site (behind my left ear), but I know several people who have their implant in a different spot due to bone density.  My good friend Lori, from this Forum, actually has her implant located at the back of her head near the base of her skull; basically where you'd place a rubber band if you were creating a pony tail.  So it should be possible to place it in a spot that won't interfere with glasses and/or a hard hat.

Best,

Jan

[william5822]

Thank you everyone. We have discussed all options and I think at this time he is just going to leave it as it is. he has 100% hearing loss on the AN side but he was able to get his medical card to drive 18 wheelers, which was his biggest concern. So for now....we are just learning to adapt

[Michael Swartz]

Hi,

I have not been on this forum for a while.  I was on immediately after my AN surgery in Nov 2009.  I still have some residual facial paralysis on my right side, raging tinnitus in my right ear, and I have been pretty much been ignoring both except when I get a charlie horse in my right cheek when I try to smile or laugh.

I did a trial for the sound bite in 2013.  I like the unit, it is interesting but it effected the way I talked and because if the intense tinnitus they had trouble turning up the gain without generating loud feedback.  So I gave up. 

I finally opted for the new BAHA 4 with the magnetic base (BAHA Attract).  I had the surgical installation of the titanium bolt and magnet about 4 weeks ago.  I get the unit and accessories, the unit programming and user training in 2 weeks... just in time for Christmas.  And I'm pretty excited about it.

The surgery and post op healing have been going good.. no issues so far except my head is a little more lumpy.  The tenderness is fading and I think it will be ok.  I do worry about how much pressure will be applied by the magnets as they hold the BAHA 4 against my head.

I did ask CI before opting for this technology about the research done regarding how the presence of the magnet effects the human electro-magnetic field.  I am a little concerned about having an electro-magnetic disturbance so close to the brain.  I asked them if they had looked at the EMI field to see how it was disturbed, if they had looked through one of those funny cameras to see how the human aura was effected or if there was any disturbance in the infra-red image.  I got no answer other than it had been approved by the FDA.  And I said.. the FDA? really.. they're a govt agency you know.. right... and since when has a govt agency done anything right?  I get it.. it's the law, they have to approve it.. but I'm not sure I really trust them.  That aside.. I opted for it anyway. 

I'll post a follow up to let you know how the programming/training session goes and how it feels, how well it holds position, etc..

Thanks for discussing this topic.
Michael