BAHA

[Karen]

After trying the new BAHA on at the symposium in Chicago.  I am thinking of getting one.  Have any of you regretted getting one?  How much trouble are they to take care of?  I wash my hair and blow dry it every day        does that effect the BAHA?  How do you put the device on the screw when you can't see                  behingd you ear?  I have all kinds of questions.  Does it help with the scence of direction?  Karen

[JerseyGirl2]

Hi, Karen,

I've worn a BAHA Intenso for a little over a year now and am very happy with it. I'm sure that other BAHA wearers will chime in as well with their comments. Here are some brief answers to your questions.

I have certainly not regretted getting my BAHA! I find it to be a very big help in coping with SSD.

They are not much trouble at all to care for -- I just keep mine clean, remove the battery each night, and store the BAHA in the little drying jar that's provided by Cochlear (the BAHA manufacturer). I replace the battery once a week. I like to compare it to contact lenses in terms of care.

I also wash and blow dry my hair every day -- you won't be wearing your BAHA when you do this! I don't aim the dryer at the abutment for a long period of time when I'm drying my hair, but that's not a big deal. BAHAs shouldn't be worn in the shower, pool, or when you're really hot and sweaty (exercise, yard work, etc.) and, of course, you'll remove it at bedtime.

Attaching the device to the abutment was a little difficult for me at first. You can't really see what you're doing, so it's a bit like Pin the Tail on the Donkey for a while. I think you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll learn to attach it on the very first try, and it will soon become second nature. I'm so used to it now that I automatically feel my head before I step in the shower, and, if for some reason I put it on in the morning before I take my shower I put a sticky note with "BAHA" written on it on the bathroom mirror as a double reminder to take it off before I shower later. It's easy to forget that you're wearing it.

Does it give you a sense of direction? Hmmm, that's a little harder to answer. The longer you're SSD the better you may become at determining directionality (by honing your other senses in a given situation), but I'm not sure that can particularly be attributed to the BAHA. I know of at least one doctor who contends that the brain permanently loses its ability to determine directionality within a short time (possibly weeks) of becoming SSD. If you believe that theory, then no, neither the BAHA nor anything else will help you with directionality. If you don't believe that theory, then you may feel that the BAHA helps in that regard.

Best wishes as you continue your research.

Catherine (Jersey Girl 2)

[leapyrtwins]

Karen -

I have had my BAHA Divino for 15 months now and absolutely love it   When I spoke to my neurotologist at the symposium he said he's done over 250 BAHA implants and so far only two people didn't like it.  One just didn't like wearing something on her head; one had repeated infections (which does happen, but is fairly rare).  I have had no infections myself.

As Catherine said, washing and blow drying your hair daily isn't a problem nor is using hair products (sprays, gels, mousse, etc.) in your hair.

I haven't had any issues with my Divino and I'm more careless than Catherine - I don't remove my battery at night, nor have I ever used my little jar of drying beads.  I should have taken it to San Diego with me, since there was lots of humidity there, but I forgot it.  It's no worse for the wear though.

When I first got my Divino I thought I'd never be able to attach it - it doesn't really snap on like you'd imagine, you kind of rock it on.  I tried looking in the mirror, which is hard to do since the abutment is behind your ear    I found it pretty frustrating at first.  But very rapidly I learned to attach it simply by feel.  For at least the past year I've been able to attach it one-handed; so now I'm an old pro 

My Divino doesn't give me a lot of directionality and it's doesn't work well in noisy and/or crowded rooms.  However, the new BP100 (and the upcoming Ponto by Oticon) has been manufactured to solve these problems.  I personally noticed a big difference when I demo'd the BP100 at the symposium.  Lori did too.

If you do schedule the surgery, PM your mailing address to me or Lori (lori67) and we'll send you one of our free Official BAHA Recovery Kits - a little something we came up with to share our BAHA excitment with those who come after us.

Jan

[Joef]

After trying the new BAHA on at the symposium in Chicago.  I am thinking of getting one.  Have any of you regretted getting one?  How much trouble are they to take care of?  I wash my hair and blow dry it every day        does that effect the BAHA?  How do you put the device on the screw when you can't see                  behingd you ear?  I have all kinds of questions.  Does it help with the scence of direction?  Karen

I am very happy with mine... they are like my good shoes ! ...

If I go fishing...  My good shoes stay home and so does my BAHA

I cut the lawn or other chores.. my good shoes and baha stay off...

I shower ... no good shoes  or baha!

I work at home a lot... wife goes off to work and I all alone... no good shoes , no baha, no shirt  ...

WHEN i DO GO IN THE OFFICE ... good shoes and baha!

when I go out to eat .... good shoes and baha!



sorry to say.... no help with locating sound..... I would do it over again, no regets....

[NancyMc]

That's hysterical.  I love it, Joef!

[grega]

Hi Karen,

I'm sold, thanks to Catherine, Jan & Joef, as well as several others previously.  Backing up Joef's superb reasoning, I wouldn't put my good shoes in beer either, so that'll help me remember not to dunk the baha again.

Greg

[leapyrtwins]

sorry to say.... no help with locating sound..... I would do it over again, no regets....

joef -

if you've got some spare change (okay a few thousand dollars) laying around, you could upgrade to the new BP100.  It offers a huge improvement in the area of locating sound - and it will help in noisy and/or crowded rooms.  Rumor has it the Ponto by Oticon (being released in October) will give you the same thing.  I plan to upgrade in 2010.

Jan

note to Grega - keep your device away from the beer   

[grega]

 .... do my best, Jan!

Keeps me on my toes .... but only in my old shoes with the scuffed fronts and beer stains!

All seriousness aside, I'm looking forward to BP100 or Ponto Plus .... if audiologist ever calls me back.  If I decide to go with another baha surgeon, will they need my hearing test history .... or is SSD enuf to let them start drilling?

Thanks ... Greg

[Joef]

sorry to say.... no help with locating sound..... I would do it over again, no regets....

joef -

if you've got some spare change (okay a few thousand dollars) laying around, you could upgrade to the new BP100.  It offers a huge improvement in the area of locating sound - and it will help in noisy and/or crowded rooms.  Rumor has it the Ponto by Oticon (being released in October) will give you the same thing.  I plan to upgrade in 2010.

Jan

note to Grega - keep your device away from the beer   

So far I've had my Divino 4 almost 4 years now... its still working well ... if and when it goes .. I will have more options !!


I remember once ... a small group of us were on a work trip .. and the bar was across the street from our hotel room .. so no driving was needed  ... I took off the BAHA long before the night was over...      (walking accross the street in the DARK was interesting) ... it was then I fully reallized  my drinking limits (or lack there of) were different  .. 2 drinks now feel like 4 ... 4 drinks now feel like 8 ... 8 now drinks feel like 16 and so on and so on ...      even zero drinks in the dark can feel like 2... 

[Sam Rush]

I had a long talk with the PHD audiologist at House, Rebecca, and she feels that it isn't worth upgrading to a BP100 from a Divino, IF you have good hearing in your good ear.   She feel the advantage in the BP100 is for people with diminished hearing in good ear. I was ready to spend the $4000 to upgrade, but she talked me out of it.

[JerseyGirl2]

I had a long talk with the PHD audiologist at House, Rebecca, and she feels that it isn't worth upgrading to a BP100 from a Divino, IF you have good hearing in your good ear.   She feel the advantage in the BP100 is for people with diminished hearing in good ear. I was ready to spend the $4000 to upgrade, but she talked me out of it.

Rebecca was my House audiologist, too. Her comment makes me wonder if the BP100 would be a good upgrade for those of us who have the Intenso model; did she imply that?

Thanks,

Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)

[Sam Rush]

We didn't discuss the intenso.  Call her. She's good at returning calls.

Sam

[JerseyGirl2]

Sam,

Thanks for your reply. I'll give her a call and will post her response.

Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)

[JerseyGirl2]

This is what I understand from the audiologist: the fitting range for the BP100 is the same as for the Divino (i.e., appropriate for patients with a bone-conducted pure tone average of 0-40dB). The BP100 isn't "stronger" than the Divino -- it's just programmable for patients who have a mild hearing loss at certain frequencies.

The expectation, and this is not surprising, is that Cochlear will be coming out with a stronger version (BP200) at some point in the future. As a current Intenso wearer, the audiologist suggests that I wait for this one, or at least wait a few months to determine what the response really is for the BP100. I am definitely inclined to just wait for the BP200.

Catherine (Jersey Girl 2)

[leapyrtwins]

Very interesting - I was thoroughly impressed with the differences between the Divino and the BP100.  Much better "surround" sound IMO 

I'd suggest demo-ing it (is that a word???) before making a decision.

While an audiologist's opinion definitely has merit, I find it interesting when non-SSD people weigh in on this issue.  Theory is great, but actually being SSD is another story.  Kind of like you have to walk in someone's shoes to really appreciate things.  But to each his/her own.

Jan