Osseo integrated hearing implant. (BAHA is old name)

[drz]

I just returned from trip to Mayo clinic where wife got the second Rituxan treatment for her lymphoma. This one had the Zedvalin radioactive isotope added. Reading about it reads like a sci fi article from the 60's with mouse cells being used to create a min radioactive bomb that will join with the Rituxan cells that target the lymphoma cancer cells so radioactivity kills them quickly. This was used in Europe for years before the FDA allowed it in USA. I believe Mayo was first to do it the USA and they seem to be pioneering lot of cancer research break throughs according to news letter they mailed me.

I had a message that my operation for the osseo integrated hearing implant was authorized by Medicare and is set up for 13 days at Hearing clinic at U of MN. I have had no hearing in right ear since April of 2010 due to Weg attack that also took out the balance on that side. But for last week I have been wearing a demo loaner and enjoying hearing in stereo again. I have to mail the loaner back tomorrow but it has convinced me that it will be a great improvement in hearing. Like Phil's CI operation there is a two or three month healing period before you can start using the hearing aid, but no learning process since you are hearing usual sounds again only the sound goes through the mastoid bone into cochlea instead of through the middle ear which was made non functional by Weg attack. Looking forward to enjoying stereo sound again this summer.

It is hard to find out from most places whether an osseointegrated hearing implant would help a hearing loss as I had to try three places to get a proper assessment. If you can hear better through the bone conduction hearing tests than through the inner ear, it might help you. The old tuning fork test also helps an experienced doctor but the sterling indicator is putting on the demo and hearing almost normal again in the deaf ear. The demo is held in place against the mastoid bone behind your deaf ear by an elastic band. The implant is attached by a snap to a stud screwed into your mastoid bone. I suppose I could ask for a fluorescent color or gold trim or something to make it look more like a decorative pierce piece of jewelry. A stud in the head should look more macho than some wimpy ring through the nose or tongue, right???

[pberggren1]

I'm sure this will work for you drz. Will be praying for you that this will be a success and you can hear better in the future.

[Al]

Great post, drz. I am highly curious how you will find the results. Please let us know how it works out!

Al

[Sangye]

Oh, how wonderful for you! I can't wait until you can start hearing in stereo again drz! :w00t:

I wanna see a picture of the stud in your head.

[drz]

Had surgery for osseointegrated hearing implant yesterday. Had a little anxiety when surgeon told me before surgery we are going to do an implant for your left ear. I told him the loaner demo was on right ear and I thought that was side for implant. He checked my chart and said you are right so lets mark it right away to be sure we get it done on right side. He drew a big arrow and circle behind right ear with a marking pen.

We viewed several videos the night before about this type of surgery. Several are posted on Youtube. The infomercial from BAHA said the surgery was minor and painless and some people went back to work the same day. I would say NOT and that it is sure more uncomfortable than a root canal. I took several pain pills for that day and slept most of the time too. The surgeon said it went well and i hope it will work out well. The large bandage about size of cupped hand is sewed to my head and they will cut it off next week. I guess they will then put on a smaller bandage and I will have to start regular cleaning of the area around the stud to keep it clean and try avoid any infections. They said it takes about three months for the bone to heal around the stud before any hearing device can be attached so I hope for much improved hearing this summer. Will let you know results then.

[Al]

Well, that's the first step, drz. Let us know how you fare in the next....

Al

[Rose]

Good news that you have started on this path, Drz and I am praying that it will be a great success.

[pberggren1]

I sure hope this works for you drz.

[elephant]

Hope you have a speedy recovery!

[KathyB]

Hope all is well, drz!! I've learned a bunch from this thread. Thank you for sharing your story!

KB

[Lightwarrior]

I'm wrapping you in light drz and wishing for everything to work for you with easy healing time.

[Sangye]

Just seeing this, drz. I hope you're doing better now. It sure stinks to have way more pain than you expected. :sad:

And holy cow about the surgeon almost doing the wrong side. (Good thing you could hear from your other ear.) It happens more often than people think. Many in the medical field recommend that patients who are undergoing surgery actually write on themselves in permanent marker (so the pre-op scrub doesn't wash it off)-- circle or arrow, write "Cut here" etc.... It sounds crazy, and most people are too embarrassed to do such a thing, or they don't want to think that they're doctor could make such a mistake. But it is far from uncommon.

[me2]

When I had hernia repair recently the doc came into my pre-op cubicle . Asked how I was doing. Told me he was going to be doing the surgery where was it going to be? I was a little concerned he appeared not to know but then opened my gown and pointed to the spot. He took out a felt pen and wrote his initials on it, and then said something like "We'll get it in the right place".
I actually felt reassured that it was now a fool proof plan.

[drz]

I went back to hearing clinic to get bandage cut off. It really felt good to get it off as it was often itching underneath and hurt at times where the stitches holding the bandage were pulling against my neck and behind the ear. The suture line seemed to be healing OK except for a couple of spots. There are also some spots where the sutures are not dissolved and create little bumps underneath the skin. In one area the color is poor and some concern that there might not be enough circulation to keep that area alive. If it dies they said it should slough off and new skin should grow back underneath it.

They gave me a cap that looks like a penny flattened out that snaps onto the stud drilled into my head and said to wear it all the time to prevent the skin from growing back over the stud. I got a special "toothbrush" to clean the stud starting next week. In the mean time I use a antiseptic spray to wet down the surgery area and try prevent any infection which is biggest concern due to my increased risk of infections and danger from infections since immune system and healing is compromised by my diseases (diabetes and GPA) and meds i take.

I got an appointment in three months to come back and get the Opticon hearing processor attached. The stud is titanium and the processor connector is attached with a gold screw. They say if necessary I could still do an MRI even with the implant if hearing processor if removed first. It will snap on and off like the caps does now and part of the function of the cap is to help you learn how to snap it on when it is on the back of your head where you can't see.

I look forward to having better hearing this summer. It is almost two years ago that I lost my hearing along with my balance on right side, most of my kidney function, part of my lung function due to Wegener's granulomatosis. I have had some partial recovery in these areas from the lowest points when near death and now should get back part of my hearing too. It won't be as good as it was two years ago when I was only mostly deaf in one ear and normal hearing in the other but in the land of the deaf the one with poor hearing is king. Right?

[pberggren1]

Congrats!

I'm sure that once you get plugged in for the first time it will be a huge improvement for you. You have made it this far. I'm sure you can handle almost anything now.

[KathyB]

Wow... Your detailed description really helps create a picture of what you've gone through, drz. Here's to an uneventful recovery and lots of wonderful things to hear!!

KB

[RudiK]

Congratulations, DRZ, to the successful progress so far and hoping that you will be able to hear all the beautiful sounds once they connect the processor.

[drz]

When cleaning the area today I took the cap off and when trying to get it back on I heard the very loud scraping sounds as the cap made contact with the stud insert. It might sound like chalk scratching on a blackboard to some one else but to me it was a most welcomed beautiful exciting sound. I believe it means for sure it will work in that I will definitely hears more sounds and louder sounds, whether I can understand the speech is another matter that will have to wait till summer.

[mishb]

When cleaning the area today I took the cap off and when trying to get it back on I heard the very loud scraping sounds as the cap made contact with the stud insert. It might sound like chalk scratching on a blackboard to some one else but to me it was a most welcomed beautiful exciting sound. I believe it means for sure it will work in that I will definitely hears more sounds and louder sounds, whether I can understand the speech is another matter that will have to wait till summer.

Thumbs up to you drz :thumbsup: and congratulations.
You have come this far and things will only get better from now, I'm sure of it.

Like Phil, I bet you can't wait for the day to come when the processor is attached.

Good luck with the cleaning and take care.

[pberggren1]

Yup, I definitely looked forward to my turn on date with my audiologist.

[Sangye]

Awesome, drz! Here's to nails on a chalkboard! :thumbsup:

[drz]

I got a hearing aid on my implant. Due to a foul up they didn't get my new hearing aid in time and had canceled my appointment but I had already left for the clinic before I got the message. After I arrived the audiologist agreed to see me and explain the foul up and then decided she could loan me a demo that was same as the new one they had ordered for me. It is most powerful processor they make and she said it was still marginal for my hearing loss, but at an average setting it seem so loud that it felt like my teeth rattled so they set it on lowest setting.


After being deaf in that ear for two years everything seems so loud. Right now the keys clicking on my keyboard sound like a jackhammer but I should acclimate to hearing more sounds again in a couple weeks. If not, they can order a weaker hearing aid for me. The sound comes through the screw in my skull and is amplified so it sounds like a phone connection with some echo or sort of nasal tone when I talk. I am playing around with volume setting to find where it feels most comfortable for me. All the noise is rather overwhelming as I feel like a bear coming out a dark cave and seeing the bright sun for first time in months and the light seems too intense. People around me sure notice the difference though since my requests for them to repeat things has decreased significantly and I can even eavesdrop now on people talking at next table. Everything is louder and sometimes hard for me to discern what is being said but at least I am hearing a lot more and am delighted to have stereo sound again.

[Sangye]

That is really good news, drz. It must be so odd to have small sounds amplified like that.

[pberggren1]

I am so happy for you drz. I know exactly what you are going through. I have gone through that twice now. Once in 2005 when I got my hearing aids and once last year when I got my CIs turned on.

[Dryhill]

Great news drz, I hope all works out well for you. Will you have to go out with armed guards to protect you from being mugged for the gold screw and titanium stud? If you ever get short of money all you will have to do is go and pawn your head.

Jim

[Sangye]

ROTFL "Pawn your head."

Where else you gonna get sage advice like that?

[Debbie C]

I am so happy for u DRZ. You have been thru so much and it is just wonderful to hear that things are getting better for you.
I hope u get your perminate one soon and get the settings all sorted out.Now you be able to hear all the birds singing miles away !!!

That was a good one Jim about him pawning his head or getting mugged :biggrin1:

[mishb]

Yay drz, that is awesome.

We certainly take our sensors for granted, until we lose them.
...... I guess the hibernation period for bears is now over. Watch out everyone drz is out and hearing.

[chrisTIn@]

Wow! Congratulations drz! :thumbsup:



...everything seems so loud.

I was looking for some real soft music, and I found this...

Ludwig van Beethoven - Mondscheinsonate (1. Satz) - YouTube (http://youtu.be/hsbmexAUBYU)

[drz]

Normally i got to pay $200 an hour for such wisdom. Here I can get it on the cheap.

To reduce my risk of getting mugged i want to clarify that it has no gold, only titanium so mtal value is pretty low once removed. it is more like the electronic car parts that cost $3 to buy and $400 to install only a whole lot more.

i never knew how noisy some things are that i thought were nice and quiet. AC, computer fan, neighbor upstairs, ants walking on side walk, and robins giving me cat calls when i walk by but I love it all.


ROTFL "Pawn your head."

Where else you gonna get sage advice like that?

[vdub]

i never knew how noisy some things are that i thought were nice and quiet. AC, computer fan, neighbor upstairs, ants walking on side walk, and robins giving me cat calls when i walk by but I love it all.
I know exactly what you are talking about. When I got my hearing aids, it was the same way. You hear sooooo many things that you had forgotten about. The sound of metal hitting metal is what I hear most often. The jingling of keys, car turn signal, putting pots and pans away, etc.... It is quite amazing actually. When I take my hearing aids out, I am always stunned at the silence....

[pberggren1]

This is so awesome drz. I am very happy for you. Over time you will get more used to all the different "loud" sounds. And then in a few months or less they will not seem so loud. Are you able to understand and enjoy any music right now? I used to love Beethoven.

[Dryhill]

i never knew how noisy some things are that i thought were nice and quiet. AC, computer fan, neighbor upstairs, ants walking on side walk, and robins giving me cat calls when i walk by but I love it all.

If the ants and robins get too loud and start to annoy you, see if your council can issue a Noise Abatement Order, that would mean the ants will have to wear slippers or soft soled shoes and the robins have some form of silencer fitted. Seriously though drz, it is reading your recent posts that makes me realise how fortunate I am to have good hearing ........... even if I do wake myself up by talking in my sleep.

Jim

[Al]

Yeah--like Phil, I am interested in how you deal with Brubeck and other music. I know musicians who cannot play with their hardware. How is it with you?

Al

[drz]

Haven't been to any concerts yet but car radio sounds about the same as does TV but can run volume setting lower. I plan to try a movie at a theater to see if it now works for me. And maybe a Broadway Musical next week. At Summer Fest they had live bands on stage and I could hear them from some distance away but it wasn't a concert setting so that is still an unknown.

Generally I hear much more, but sometimes still have trouble discerning content of speech, but at least I usually know when some one is talking to me if both aids are turned on. I am so used to not hearing that sometimes I forget to turn the new one on after I mute it due to some excessive noise, like wind noise when walking outside on windy day. The one upside is that when both aids are out, when sleeping or napping, I never get woke up by any thunder storms or marching bands or phone calls or door bells. When I had surgery they put a big sign on me that said to insert my hearing aid before they talked to me. I can also now remove my large button I often wore when going out, especially at medical clinics, that said Hearing Impaired, Please Face Me.

The BAHA type hearing aid is snapped onto to the mastoid bone behind the ear so wearing a cap or resting my head on back of recliner is troublesome and results in large noise if aid touches anything. This will be a problem when flying and trying to take a nap. If I put phone near new aid, the speaker part of phone is too far away for people to hear me so I usually use the aid inside the other ear for phone calls but have to have phone set on speaker phone and loudest setting to hear the call. It works for most phone calls and even Skype or Facetime on Ipad if I am in quiet place.

They gave me an attachment that I snap the new aid onto and if someone holds it against their forehead and plug their ears they can hear sounds like i do through the skull. It has a rather nasal or rain barrel sound I think but will be interested in how other people react to it. There are a number of people I know with hearing loss that are interested in trying this to find out if my kind of surgery may help them hear better. I remember how amazed i was when they put the demo on my head for the first time.

[Sangye]

Whoa, I love the demo thing, drz. You could sell tickets. Seriously though, it'd be a great thing for other hearing-impaired people to have access to.

[pberggren1]

I usually take my implants off if I am going to sleep for any amount of time.

[Dryhill]

To be able NOT to hear the phone or door bell would have been wonderful when I worked nights. I did so love getting to bed around 5am and being woken by someone cold calling to sell me something at 9am, worse where the idiots that came to the door and had not noticed all the curtains where shut. Mind you I would not want to have suffered as much as drz or Phil.

Jim

[drz]

I took in a brief piano concert in Washington Square In NYC. It really sounded good. I could also hear my four year old grandson when he whispered into my implanted hearing aid during the concert. Both sounds were great experience. When walking down the noisy streets of New York city though I had to turn both aids down cause the noisy overload was rather uncomfortable. I think i could enjoy a Broadway musical and we might attend one which should be the acid test. So far the new aid seems well worth the hassle to get it and to wear it.

[Dryhill]

I am so pleased for you drz, it is about time something positive happened for you.

Jim

[Palmyra]

I am alsovery pleased to 'hear' technology and medicine have teamed to help both you and Phil with the very important sense of hearing. My daughter's hearing is so impaired she practically yells when speaking to others. That is an issue that has been way off the radar for us, but I am sure it is one she will have to deal with in the future. Please keep us posted regarding your progress, as I am sure others will have similar issues.

Many thanks and best wishes.

[Debbie C]

drz, thats great..all the things u r able to hear now.The bad thing is now you can't tell anybody " I didn't hear you " when they want you to do something !!!!! I am truly happy for you,hope u enjoy Broadway.

[drz]

An evaluation at a very good "hearing center" might help find out, what if anything, can be done to help her hearing. The technology keeps changing and people who couldn't be helped a few years ago can often get great help. I got my help at the UM hearing clinic who seemed much more motivated to help me than did the Mayo Clinic so shop around till you find a place that seems interested in help you hear better. I saw a you tube video about a surgeon in Texas who did hundreds of the type of surgery I had done. He might be a good resource to check out. I found it doing a search on youtube for info on osseo integrated hearing implant or BAHA surgery.


I am alsovery pleased to 'hear' technology and medicine have teamed to help both you and Phil with the very important sense of hearing. My daughter's hearing is so impaired she practically yells when speaking to others. That is an issue that has been way off the radar for us, but I am sure it is one she will have to deal with in the future. Please keep us posted regarding your progress, as I am sure others will have similar issues.

Many thanks and best wishes.

[Palmyra]

drz, I would be interested in learning more regarding the Texas surgeon that you mentioned. Would you mind sharing, or giving a web address? Many thanks,

Jane

[drz]

I have had the new hearing aid for the osseo integrated surgery procedure for past month. It makes a great difference and people greatly appreciate not having to repeat most things several times. I have been able to enjoy a movie at a theater and a Broadway musical in NYC. The aid does require frequent adjustments in volume since it gets too loud in noisy settings like a crowded restaurant or streets of NYC. It also makes a lot of noise if I touch it with anything or bump it but overall I am very happy with it. It is a great improvement in the quality of my life.

[pberggren1]

I am very happy for you drz.

[Sangye]

Yay, drz. That is just wonderful news! :thumbsup: