Soundbite

[Sue Vogel]

I am very encouraged by Gloria's report about the trial using Soundbite for SSD and the potential availability of this device next year.  I am yet to see anything posted about a potential cost.  I think it was Gloria who said, "insurance companies can't keep hiding behind the blanket statement that they don't cover hearing aids."  But the truth is that they are, and they are getting away with it.  So that leaves many of us with no resources for hearing improvement.  I was wondering if Soundbite is going to be affordable for those of us who are being sidestepped by our insurance companies. 

I would love to "hear" from you.  (No pun.)

SUE

[NancyMc]

Somebody threw out $4K US, but Pooter, I think it was, advised the company to try $2.8K.   
You could contact the company directly.  I'm hoping for the device as well.

[Pooter]

For the record, I wasn't the one to first throw out the $4,000 figure... I just repeated it.  NOTE here:

When I contacted Sonitus about pricing, this is the reply I received:
Hi Grace,
Thanks for the inquiry. Our estimated price, once we receive our first FDA clearance (which we intend to be in mid 2010), will ultimately be determined by your doctor, but it will likely be in the $4,000 ballpark.
Regards,
Jason Shelton
VP Marketing
Sonitus Medical, Inc.
1825 South Grant Street, Suite 350
San Mateo CA, 94402
(650) 353-5827 - office
jason@sonitusmedical.com
www.sonitusmedical.com

Grace

Also, for the record they really should bring the price down to be more competitive with BAHA and TransEar if they truly want to compete with them..  and if this healthcare thing that's being debated in Washington goes through, then "medical devices" (e.g. the soundbite, transear and BAHA among many others) will be taxed to the high heavens.  But, don't get me started on THAT.  

Brian

[leapyrtwins]

It appears that the Sound Bite, when it's available, will be in the same price range as the BAHA devices currently on the market.

Final price for a BAHA device is set by the doctor/audiologist or practice that sells it to you, but the Cochlear BP100 is going for around $3,750 plus programming and the Oticon Ponto Pro is approximately $4,500.

Jan

[saralynn143]

Jan is that including or in addition to the cost of placing an abutment?

Sara

[leapyrtwins]

Sara -

that would be in addition to the cost of the surgery - which usually entails the doctor, the outpatient facility or hospital, and possibly an anesthesiologist (if you choose the option of general as opposed to local anesthesia).

My insurance company discounted the cost of the device plus the surgery, but I want to say before the discounts it came to about $46,000 (and I had local administered by my doc; no anesthesiologist involved) - but I'd have to check my EOBs to be positive.

Jan

[leapyrtwins]

Donnalynn -

Sound Bite is a new device being tested for those who are SSD.  It involves wearing a piece in your mouth and a piece behind your ear.

Gloria is part of a group testing the Sound Bite, in San Francisco I believe.

Here's a link to her thread http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=10753.msg124376#msg124376

Jan

[saralynn143]

Jan, do you mean $4600? Thanks for posting the link for Donna, I was just going to look that up when your post appeared.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Sara

[leapyrtwins]

Sara -

no, I meant to say $46,000 but once my insurance company was done discounting it (everything was in my healthcare network) it was much cheaper.  Have you seen the cost of a medical facility, an OR, a surgeon, a team of medical personnel, drugs (lidocaine), and supplies lately?  I'm sure you are aware of the markup on these things 

Plus somewhere in the price is the cost of the diamond tip drill used to drill the hole in the skull.  The outpatient facility where my doc generally does BAHA implants has their own drill, but my surgery was done at a hospital where he usually doesn't do BAHAs, so they had to rent a drill from Cochlear.  I don't know the exact cost of the rental, but I'm 100% certain it was factored into my bill.

The BAHA device is billed separately and it's in the neighborhood of $4,000.

Thank God for insurance coverage or I'd be BAHA-less.

Jan

[tenai98]

ouch ouch ouch is all I can say...my whole payment (surgery and baha device) cost only $1.000.00.  i know its a public health care system here in ontario, but at times i am gladt have it.
JO

[saralynn143]

Wow, Jan, I'm stunned. I might have expected that an overnight stay with general anesthesia might rack up a charge like that. But holy cow.

Sara

[Sue Vogel]

The BAHA package at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is $35,000 which is why I am also BAHAless.

For those who have also read about SoundBite, I read a review that said it was for those with conductive hearing loss and not for those with sensori neural hearing loss.  The conductive hearing loss candidates have damage in the outer ear or the middle ear.  The sensori neural hearing loss candidates have damage in the inner ear.  My audiologist office says that my deafness is sensori neural and not damage in the outer ear or middle ear (which is why my Blue Cross will not pay for the BAHA.)  If the information I read about SoundBite is correct, are those of us who are Translabites going to be eligible for it?

Gloria, are you SSD due to Translab?


SUE

[NancyMc]

I had the same question when I read a little on the SoundBite website but chose to ignore it and hope it applies to us translabbies.

[sgerrard]

This issue has come up before with BAHA, and now again with Soundbite.

First off, Gloria is SSD.

Neither a BAHA nor a SoundBite will help sensori-neural hearing loss on the same side as the device. Both devices are most commonly used to address conductive hearing loss on the same side as the device. The use of a BAHA or a SoundBite to address SSD by sending sound to the other side of the head seems to be less well known out in the non-AN and non-SSD world.

Nevertheless, this use for SSD is an additional application for the BAHA, and it is used this way by our forum members who have BAHAs. And, as it says on the SoundBite web site: "SoundBite hearing system is intended for patients who suffer from single sided deafness..."

Steve

[NancyMc]

Steve,
Aren't you supposed to be knitting or something?
Nancy