Is a BAHA only for the SSD?

[lrobie]

I had a check-up with my local ENT doctor today.  He said that my hearing loss was moderate to severe.  The marks on the audiogram report are mostly in the 70-80 range.  I'm not sure what that means exactly.  The doctor asked me if I felt I was ready for a hearing aid.  I haven't really looked into this, but I asked him if I would be a candidate for a BAHA.  He thought I would and referred me for a consult with another doctor in the practice who does those surgeries.  I was just curious if you know whether I have to be totally deaf to get the BAHA.  I also wonder if I were to get a regular hearing aid if that would help with the tinnitus and hyperacusis.  Thanks for your input.

Lisa

P.S.  I also discovered that we have a licensed vestibular therapist in my city who I should have been going to all along.  I'm scheduling an appointment with her to see if that helps with my wonkiness.

[Jim Scott]

Lisa ~

I'm not an expert on the BAHA (that would be Jan B.) but to the best of my knowledge, one has to be SSD for it to be really effective, otherwise, a 'regular' hearing aid is usually recommended.

A hearing aid will likely not have much effect on the tinnitus but better hearing may help 'mask' it somewhat.

Good luck with your vestibular therapist consult!

Jim

[Twindy]

Lisa, I am wondering the same thing.  My doc says I won't be interested in a hearing aid because it will just make noise.  But does that make me eligible for other devices?  What does one do in that  in-between stage where word recognition is almost non exsistant but there is still some hearing?  I will be interested to hear what you find out.  Good luck!

[CHD63]

If I am not mistaken Jaylogs still had (or has) some hearing in his AN ear and wears a Baha.  Hopefully he will add in to this discussion.

Patients with ANs experience sensorineural hearing loss (nerve function loss).  That means the sound from the outer ear is not properly reaching the brain because the nerve is damaged (or missing if the AN is surgically removed via translab).  The frequencies still getting through can vary greatly from patient to patient.

After my first surgery, when I still had approximately 20% of my hearing, I wore a traditional air-conducted hearing aid with good success.  However, I had 100% speech discrimination, which meant I had sufficient use of some high frequencies that it was successful.  Since the second surgery, via translab and I am SSD, I have had wonderful results with the Oticon Medical Ponto Pro bone-conducted hearing device.

If I were you, I would work with an experienced, well-trained audiologist, who has experience with both air-conducted and bone-conducted devices for an opinion on my particular hearing loss.

Just my thoughts .....

Clarice

[marisa_rivera]

We are new to the baha experience. My daughter just had her surgery. She has SSD and per her doctor, she was a very good candidate for it since she had absolutely no hearing in that ear.
He said that he's noticed that people w/ some hearing can get a little frustrated w/ adjusting to what the ear picks up along w/ what the baha picks up.
Since a normal hearing aid would never benefit w/ my daughter, I dont know how good they work for people w/ slight to severe hearing loss. I'd explore those options first before jumping into the BAHA option since you are dealing w/ having an abutement permanently put in.

[PamJ]

Hi Lisa I have a BAHA and it does seem to help with my tinnitis.  I've had a slight infection and can't wear it for three days and oh boy do I miss it.  I have read of people here in the UK who have some hearing and have a BAHA.

[lrobie]

Thanks for your responses.  Keep them coming.

Lisa

[leapyrtwins]

You do not have to be completely SSD to be a candidate for a BAHA.  I didn't realize that until my neurotologist told me.

According to him (and he's the expert), patients with hearing loss should be evaluated on a case by case basis.  So talk to your doc and/or your audiologist.

Jan

[leapyrtwins]

Forgot to say that as far as tinnitus goes:

if you have it, a BAHA implant won't make it go away nor will it make it better or worse;

if you don't have it, a BAHA implant won't cause it.

Jan

[leapyrtwins]

Since a normal hearing aid would never benefit w/ my daughter, I dont know how good they work for people w/ slight to severe hearing loss. I'd explore those options first before jumping into the BAHA option since you are dealing w/ having an abutement permanently put in.

It's important to stress to those of you who've had AN surgery that BAHA implant surgery is ABSOLUTELY nothing like AN surgery - so don't let that put you off.  Implant surgery is outpatient - except in Canada (where it's inpatient; not sure why) - and it only takes about 90 minutes from start to finish.  You can even opt for local anesthesia (I did) which means you don't have to deal with the "fog" and nausea that sometimes comes from general anesthesia.

I also want to stress that having an abutment permanently implanted may cause some people to hesitate, but it's never been a problem for me.  It becomes second-nature - kind of like contacts become for people who wear them - and it's very low maintenance.  I do nothing more to clean mine than wash it with my fingers when I shampoo my hair.

Jan

[jaylogs]

Hi there!! As Clarice said, I do have hearing...in the 45-50% range.  My doc said I was a good candidate for BAHA over a conventional hearing aid because as he said, a hearing aid basically just amplifies sound, and if things sound gobbly gook, a hearing aid would just make it loud gobbly gook.  So I have enjoyed much improved hearing.  It's nice too because I haven't lost my sense of direction, which is a common complaint for SSD'ers.  The tinnitus thing, as Jan accurately pointed out, did not go away at all. If anything, it's worse than ever.  So I hope that helps, let us know what you do decide!
Jay

[lrobie]

My consultation is in January.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Lisa

[Jim Scott]

Hi there!! As Clarice said, I do have hearing...in the 45-50% range.  My doc said I was a good candidate for BAHA over a conventional hearing aid because as he said, a hearing aid basically just amplifies sound, and if things sound gobbly gook, a hearing aid would just make it loud gobbly gook.  So I have enjoyed much improved hearing.  It's nice too because I haven't lost my sense of direction, which is a common complaint for SSD'ers.  The tinnitus thing, as Jan accurately pointed out, did not go away at all. If anything, it's worse than ever.  So I hope that helps, let us know what you do decide!

Thanks, Jay ~

I stand corrected (and in the future will likely avoid attempting to respond to questions regarding BAHA devices due to my lack of experience with them).   

Jim