Greg -
congrats on getting a date for surgery. Glad you like your doctor - a major asset in AN treatment, in my opinion. I can't even imagine having a doctor - or doctors - that I didn't like perform brain surgery on me. I thank God every day for my docs; two outstanding men who were instrumental in my very positive outcome.
As far as the BAHA goes, listen to James. His feelings and enthusiasm have a lot of merit - and I'm not just saying that because he and I agree. Until someone is actually SSD and has tried the BAHA demo, or actually had the implant, they cannot give you an accurate opinion on how it does or does not perform.
Before I had my implant I asked my doc how his patients liked the BAHA and he told me that out of the 200 patients he had implanted at that time, only 1 decided she didn't like it. In my opinion, that was the best testimonial he could have given me. It spoke volumes.
The BAHA is not for everyone, but if you are open to having a titanium rod implanted into you skull (trust me, not nearly as bad as it sounds
) you definitely owe it to yourself to investigate it.
I was telling my doc just yesterday how happy I am with my decision to get a BAHA and how much it's changed my life - and my attitude towards life. I'm amazed each and every day by my BAHA and I still recall how depressed (and old) I felt before I got it.
Jan