BAHA duo

[deheisel11]

Hi all,
My wife and I are going to both get BAHAs.  Both on the right side.  Hers is for sudden hearing loss from an illness four years ago and mine if for translab for an AN.  My wife asked me to ask all of you a question.   She is a school principal and over the past four years has learned how to cope with one working ear.  Her question:  She is used to hearing the way it is now.....she will have to get used to the BAHA.  If she loses the BAHA she will have to get used to not having it.  Would those of you that got your BAHAs years after going SSD, please write to tell her how has your life changed (positive or negative) when you got your BAHA.  I have told her about all of the positive comments about your BAHAs but she wants to hear (?) what people say, herself.  Thanks in advance.

[Kencutus]

Visit these two links below.  You don't have to sign up right now but it would be ideal at a later date.  You might get a better idea and everyone has a different views of BAHA.  I have a pair of Intenso and love it. I have been hearing impaired all of my life.  I used to wear a  bone conduction hearing aid on a headband for 47 years.  I'm glad I don't have it anymore thanks to BAHA.

http://www.cochlearcommunity.com/login/index.php  Just type "BAHA" in search and you will find a lot of people with BAHAs.

http://www.baha-users-support.com/cgi-bin/2bb/2bb.cgi

[grega]

Hello "d" and wife .... glad to make your acquaintance!

Had my An removed 6 yrs ago this month, and SSD was part of the outcome.  I was ready for that possibility.  Since then, I tried to wear a device deep in my deaf ear, with the intent of having the sound transferred to my good side thru my skull.  That was painful at times and not really powerful enough to be effective.  Then I had CROS hearing aids for most of three years, but they were not up to snuff either.  Then last year, I started to get more interested in BAHA. 

My BAHA surgery was back in April this year, and now I wear the BP100 ...... and it's quite a welcome, very positive, change, allowing me to hear on my deaf side in those situations where I could not before (e.g. restaurants, noisy rooms, driving with passengers).  It's nowhere as pure a sound as normal hearing, but it does certainly work.  And I don't have any real directionality if I don't see the person speaking on my deaf side.  But that's entirely OK.

I'm sure many others will comment on their positive experiences ..... I'm surprised they haven't yet chimed in .... perhaps they're in long voting lines.

Keep smiling!

Greg

[dalern]

I was SSD for over 11 years.  I was not sure if the BAHA would give me full benefit.  It has been incredible.  I really notice the difference when I am not wearing it.  I now know when people are speaking to me on the deaf side and do not need to turn my head all the way around to hear them from my good ear.  I am hearing sounds that I had forgotten about.  I hear sheets rustling when I make the bed, I hear footsteps, I hear the keypad on my computer.  I thought I had accommodated very well to my SSD, but I definitely feel the difference (HEAR the difference!) with my BAHA.
Good luck to both of you.
~Dale

[james e]

I love my BAHA and so does my wife. My good ear is not really bad, but it's not really good either, so before I had my BAHA the tv/radio was always a little too loud for my wife. With the BAHA on, the volume is at a very normal level, and my wife promises me we will remain married. When I work in the yard or do wood work or any dirty work, I remove it so it won't get dirty or I won't knock it off...I come inside, turn on the radio, and realize I need to put on my "bionic ear", and the level of the sound on the radio that I just turned on is way too high...turn it down before my wife heads to the lawyer! My hair is very short and the BAHA is highly visible, but that does not bother me. Any length of hair most women wear will easily cover it. We are boaters, so I just leave the BAHA at home...it cannot get wet! Every once in a while I get in the shower while wearing it, so my wife has a sign in there to remind me...she will leave me if I ruin it by getting it wet. It does not help with stereo music, and it does not help me define where noise is coming from. We do not have side walks where we live, so we walk the dog in the street, and my wife is always pulling me out of the way of a car coming up behind us...maybe she really wants to keep me. Batteries are very inexpensive and each one lasts about a week to 10 days.  There is really no maintenance to it...take the battery out each night and put the BAHA in a jar full of beads to keep it dry. If you wash your hair every day, the implant will stay clean, and I have not had any infections or any skin reaction to it. It is not like normal hearing, but it is close to it...like they say, "you have to have been there." It is a win-win product.

[deheisel11]

Thanks so much to all of you that responded.  I copied them and gave it to her to read.  She was very impressed with the responses and actually feels much better about getting her BAHA.  Thanks, again.

[leapyrtwins]

It does not help with stereo music, and it does not help me define where noise is coming from.

Just wanted to note that Cochlear sells an MP3 adapter that connects directly to the BP100 to give you stereo sound while using your iPod.  I have an adapter and love it.  It's fairly pricey ($300) but I bought mine 1/2 price when they had a sale and I have never regretted it.

Also, some people who wear the BAHA do gain some directionality over time.  I've found that the longer I wear mine the more directionality I seem to have.  It's not really precise directionality, but I can tell which side of my body sound is on which has been very helpful.

Like James said, the BAHA isn't like "normal" hearing, but I've personally found that it definitely beats being SSD with no "assistance".

Jan