22 Apr Beyond Traditional Hearing Aids: Bone Anchored Hearing Aids
A Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) is a medically implanted hearing aid based on the principles of bone conduction. Using vibrations of the skull, the hearing aid (which is implanted directly into the skull) sends the signal to the hearing organs (cochlea).
It is primarily used for those who have conductive losses, unilateral losses, mixed losses, or any reason why someone couldn’t wear a traditional hearing aid (e.g. a patient born without external ear canals, or a patient with chronic drainage). An audiologist can evaluate your candidacy for the BAHA implant with a full hearing evaluation.
The benefits of BAHA are well documented. For patients who have been unsuccessful with conventional hearing aids, the BAHA can help improve speech understanding, sound localization, and overall sound clarity with less distortion and feedback.
An alternative for some cases of potential BAHA candidates is to explore the use of a CROS aid. We previously posted an outline of the CROS system.
BAHA implantation is a surgery, so the first step is to try the BAHA on a trial basis using a headband.
If you’d like more information on the BAHA system, please contact us at 482-2222 for a full hearing evaluation to evaluate your candidacy.
For more info on BAHA http://www.oticonmedical.com/ or watch this video about what it is like to wear a BAHA http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nAlSdpXGbjk
