Transear - tell me about it!

[6pick]

I called my insurance yesterday to see if BAHA or TransEar are covered. After many "I'm not sure . . . it depends . . . " I asked if my phone inquiry would be better made by my doctor. The customer service lady perked right up and said yes because they have all the information needed.

At this point, rather than confuse things with the blow-by-blow, I'll just say that so far it appears that the follow-up appointments made for me for MRI, Audiogram and consult in April will breach the subject of hearing device. If this is the case, it would have been nice for someone to have informed me. But I'm not complaining. I'm truly grateful for everything: the doctors, the insurance, the forum, the fact that there are hearing "aids" out there that can help, that my "alien" is benign - everything.

So, I guess the question is, "is that how & when I'm supposed to find out?"

Mark

[bre2you]

6pick,

I was told by my Audiologist to ask my insurance company specifically if I had "hearing aid" coverage.  I also looked up my benenfits online by going to the website listed on the back of my insurance card.  What I have found is that most people have never heard of Acoustic Neuroma (myself included until I was diagnosed) and don't know what BAHA or TransEar are.

Bridget

[leapyrtwins]

Mark -

if you to want to know if your insurance company will cover a BAHA, contact Cochlear.  They have an insurance division - referred to as OMS (I can never remember what that stands for) - and they will contact your insurance company for you.  I've heard OMS works wonders.

It's very common for insurance companies to tell you BAHAs aren't covered because lots of insurance reps think a BAHA is a hearing aid.  It's not.  It's classified as an implant or a prosthesis, which generally makes all the difference in the world when it comes to determining if insurance pays for it or not.

You'll find information on Cochlear's main website www.cochlearamericas.com

Good luck,

Jan

[Patti UT]

Anissa,
   You know, your audiologist is my aduiologist. We both happened to call her the sdame week about Transear.  She demo'd me the BAHA Tuesday.  AMAZING!!!!!  she had all the info she got from Transear and was ready to make the mold right then. But after checking out the BAHA.  I don't know.  Lots to think about.  If insurance won't pay, She quoted about 20k for BAHA including the surgery. Some companies will pay for the surgery but not the device.  transear is only $2400 with the 30 day trial, your out $100 for the fitting if you send it back.  And YES, it does go very deep into the ear canal. It has to get down to the bony part in order to conduct.   In looking at the Soundbite, it looks similar to the Transear with a piece behind the ear and a peice into the ear canal, just not at deep. but then there is the mouth peice too.  Seems like more peices to mess with and more batteries to be changing. ALso, it's new, so they will ahve to work out the bugs same as Transear just spent  the last coupld years doing.  I'm not sure about the cost of Soundbite.  ANyone know??

patti ut

[leapyrtwins]

I was told by my Audiologist to ask my insurance company specifically if I had "hearing aid" coverage. 

Bridget -

whether or not your insurance company covers hearing aids is only relevant if you are looking into a TransEar or a conventional hearing aid.  The BAHA does not qualify as a hearing aid, which is why insurance typically covers it.  The BAHA is technically an implant or a prosthesis and that is the distinction that is very important when approaching your insurance company. 

If your policy covers Cochlear Implants (CIs) it has to cover BAHAs or you can claim that you are being discriminated against.  CIs are for people who are bilaterally deaf (deaf in both ears) while BAHAs are for those of use who are unilaterally or SSD (single sided deaf). 

As I mentioned to Mark, if you are thinking about a BAHA contact Cochlear and let them deal with your insurance company.  They typically get quicker and better results in requesting coverage than patients do when they ask directly.

Jan

[Mei Mei]

"Goes all the way to the jawbone"  ... does it hurt to get it in that far?  Do they give you a lot of practice putting it in and out before they send you home with it?

Anissa, I would write to Angelia at TransEar to get the names of TransEar audiologists in your area.  Being the first one to be fitted at that practice is not such a good idea as the good fit is critical to the success or failure of the TransEar for your individual case.

If you PM (Private Message) me, I'll give you her email address so she can get you the contact list for your zip code.   She gave me about 5 in our area and one of them was highly recommended by the local consumer's group so I'm going with him.

Take care,
Mei Mei

[Patti UT]

Mei mei,
  I had already consulted with transear, The next closest  for me is around 1 1/2 hours away and they have only done 5 of them over the last couple years.  Annissa is in Idaho, she might be ale to find one closer to her than the sudiologist where we both had our surgeries in utah.  I will be her first fitting but she is a good audiologist.  I am anticipating it neeeding to be tweeked a few times to get it to fit right. I guess they give you some lubrication to use for inserting it.  Hopefully it won'r be too uncomfortable

[bre2you]

Everyone's ear canal is different, but the part of the TransEar that gqoes into my ear canal is an inch long.  There is lubricant that you put on it before inserting it.  It does not hurt, but is a bit uncomfortable going in.  Once it is in place, I feel like I have an ear plug in my ear---I always know its there but it does not hurt.  I have about two weeks left on my trial and haven't decided if i wil keep it. I haven't noticed a significant enough change in my hearing to justify it just yet.  Right now I have to drive over an hour to get to theaudiologist so it is not so convenient to pop in for an adjustment.  The BAHA is not a viable option for me as I do not want another hole drilled in my head.

Bridget 

[Mei Mei]

Hi again,
This is all very disheartening and maybe I should get used to SSD until the technology gets better.  Things seem to be moving quickly and I'm willing to wait and watch the action on this Forum for a couple of years.

Jeanlea on page 1 of this thread expressed that she is very comfortable with the Transear and has been using it for 3 1/2 years.  and doesn't feel it.  The fitting is really critical in the success of all the aids we get.  If you have confidence in you audiologist then go for it.  I wonder if Jeanlea's audiologist had any experience before fitting her with the TransEar or how much experience she had.

I hope you find a good solution.  Please let us all know what you finally decide on and what works for you and I will do the same.
Sincerely,
Mei Mei

[bre2you]

Mei Mei,

I would encourage you to try thr transear for yourself. Every case is diiferent.  It may work well for you. I had lived with 85% hearing loss for  almost a year before I was diagnosed with an AN tumor. So when I lostthe remaining 15%, the impact was not that great. I primarily work from home and use a speaker phone, so the transear would only be useful to me when I leave home. There is a 30 day free trial, so you really have nothing to lose by trying it.

Bridget

[meganlynn]

Hello everyone ... I'm totally new to this forum, and have been very interested in all of your TransEar comments.  My daughter is six years old and in the first grade.  She has ssd and a TransEar.  As we live in TN, in October we made the trip to 'TransEar' itself.  WOW!  They fitted her that day, and the change was remarkable.  She never complained of pain, and only used the 'gel' the first day.  Sarah (daughter of inventor) tested her in the sound proof booth with her good ear plugged and covered, and with the TransEar she had 98 percent word recognition!!!  Then she took out the TransEar (keeping the good ear plugged and covered) and only had 62 percent word recognition.  Amazing!

The depth of the fit has not seemed to bother her at all.  She takes it out in gymnastics, but not in dance class.  It's hard to get exact information from her since she's so young, but it seems to be working very well.  We are still experimenting with certain aspects... direction, telephone, etc.

The company itself has won my trust.  They are so very patient friendly, and have been wonderful to work with....

[6pick]

Hi again,
This is all very disheartening and maybe I should get used to SSD until the technology gets better.  Things seem to be moving quickly and I'm willing to wait and watch the action on this Forum for a couple of years.

For my money, I don't want to "get used to SSD" for any length of time if I don't have to. It's as irritating for me as for my wife to have to ask her to repeat things all the time. I figure that when the technology improves, I'll upgrade then if I want to. I can't argue that technology is improving all the time and I have to ask myself at exactly what point in time or at what point in the improvement in technology do I say, "It's better"? What should be my cutoff point?

So I guess the point, Mei Mei, is you are worth doing something about it now, after all, you could wait forever for the technology to "be there", you know?

Mark

[Mei Mei]

You're right, Mark.   I am really worth it and being in a restaurant today in a large crowded room was very frustrating.   I know with you I don't have to explain the frustration.    Reading about the length of the Trans Ear the other day concerned me.  T reports of the device not fitting well was also a concern.  I want to make sure I have the best possible person to do this fitting that have had lots of experience with TrnsEar.   Maybe I should make the trip to Tennessee.   It's not that far from me   I'll check it out.

Thanks for your comments!
Mei Mei

[6pick]

You go, girl!   

[Mei Mei]

Thanks, Mark.   You're a good friend!  I needed that!
Mei Mei