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Thread: bone anchored hearing aids

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    Default bone anchored hearing aids

    I have severe hearing loss in one ear. My hearing aid is turning out to be a disappointment. I have very small ear canals, and I have always had a problem with wax buildup, so the signal I get is poor and wearing the thing is just irritating to the point that I have pretty much given up on it. I'm interested in hearing (pun not intended) from anyone who has had BAHA: complications? annoyances? What's the procedure like? From what I've read I'm a good candidate for this but am just starting to look into it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Alaskatom View Post
    I have severe hearing loss in one ear. My hearing aid is turning out to be a disappointment. I have very small ear canals, and I have always had a problem with wax buildup, so the signal I get is poor and wearing the thing is just irritating to the point that I have pretty much given up on it. I'm interested in hearing (pun not intended) from anyone who has had BAHA: complications? annoyances? What's the procedure like? From what I've read I'm a good candidate for this but am just starting to look into it.
    I love mine and it greatly improved the quality of my life and my speech too.
    Knowledge is power! Wisdom is using it to make good decisions!

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    I'm in the same boat, Tom, one really bad ear, hearing aid does nothing really for it except to squeal and annoy people. It's disappointing, because it used to be the better ear until somehow the eardrum eroded away, the little bones behind it eroded, and some sort of weird skin growth started filling up the space of the middle ear. I wish I could visualize it. Anyway, a BAHA has been suggested for me, and they let me try one out by strapping it onto my head, and it seemed pretty good.... would be better, I'm sure, with it firmly screwed into the bone. I was told Medicare would cover it, but could not find that anywhere until I looked under prosthetics, where it was listed. Other types of hearing aids, they will not cover. I have just been getting by with the one decent ear so far and delaying this decision until I feel more able to cover the copay. If you have better insurance and/or the copay is not a problem, I'd say give it a shot, I guess. I know someone else on here who is happy with hers and perhaps will see this. The ones they demo'd to me came in colors to match one's hair and were streamlined, small and sort of egg shaped. Best of luck with this decision!
    Anne, dx'ed April 2011

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    Thanks. My current insurance won't cover it but we are just about to switch plans and I think it's likely I'll get at least partial coverage. I'm a bit concerned about the invasive nature of the implant but if I get some assurance of better function in the bad ear I'd probably risk it. The manufacturers'/providers' websites of course paint a rosy picture, so I was hoping to get some unbiased first hand accounts here.

    At first I was pleased with the in-ear aid, because at least I could hear something on the bad side to alert me that someone was talking to me or something was happening, but over time I have found the poor fit, the wax issue, and the fuzzy signal to be very annoying. Since my other ear often feels plugged, I might as well have my head under water at times. Certainly there are worse problems to have, but it's a quality of life issue and if I can get some meaningful improvement I'd like to do it.

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    With the BAHA, I think it's supposed to send what comes in on the "bad ear" side through the bone to the "good ear" side, and I had the impression that everything would sound like it was in the left ear (for me). But when they strapped it on me, it sounded like I was hearing in the bad (right) ear. So I don't know what to think. It was a little bit muffled, since it was coming through the bone, but a lot better than hearing nothing. I was given some literature and would probably do more research. There's another system called the 'Cros' system which works a little differently. I have literature on that, too, but that kind is not covered by Medicare at all.
    Anne, dx'ed April 2011

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    I have a behind the ear model on left ear and had to get by with it for over a year. I had lost all the bones for middle ear from infections over the years. No surgery allowed except life threatening stuff for one year according to my treatment team. The BAHA is now called an osseointegrated hearing assistant since Medicare does not cover hearing aids. Last year they wanted to drop coverage for BAHA's but got some much opposition they backed down. The BAHA on my deaf side provides most of my useful hearing now. My speech also came back to near normal after being hearing impaired for a year and half.

    I got an old school model from an old school surgeon as it was only option I could find in 2012. Mayo wouldn't do for Medicare rates. My surgeon didn't do a very good job on the surgery. The titanium abutment (A Toggle bolt they screw into your head) was not properly centered or placed so I have had problems with infection around the abutment and unwanted feedback from aid touching my skin fold he creates by mistake. The newer procedure does not remove all the hair under the skin to create a big bald spot and seems to have less problems with infection too plus it is easier to keep clean i think. It should also heal a bit faster but it takes a few months for the bone to grow into the toggle bolt and a few weeks for pain to subside before you can use the BAHA.

    I chose the Oticon Ponto Plus model and think it is the best choice. They have a newer model I might get when my insurance agrees to cover it. I could also get another surgery to correct some of the problems and get a newer abutment that is longer to reduce the feedback problems but so far I just live with it.

    The surgery is main part of the cost. The hearing aid is the cheapest part of getting one. I love mine and go to lot of concerts with classical music and can hear well enough to enjoy it. Noise in crowds or a noisy environment is hard for anyone on any hearing aid and that includes BAHAs. When the battery in it dies, it like some one shut off the sound.

    Do your research and find a good surgeon who uses modern approach and has lot of experience with good results.
    Last edited by drz; 03-29-2016 at 12:53 PM.
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    Great info, drz. The Oticon Ponto Plus is the model I would be getting at my audiologist's, which is part of the professional suite containing my ENT and others, and the allergy dept. Anyway, I'd better do it pretty soon if I'm going to, before Medicare decides to stop covering it again. I assume you still had a 20% copay, unless you have a special plan that picks up more of the cost. I didn't know there would be such a recuperation time before getting to use it (although I have a vague recollection of being told that), but it is good to hear that you are happy with it and able to enjoy music concerts. You are the only person besides me who I've known to have had the small bones of the middle ear erode. But I suppose there are more. Could you clarify, are you still using a standard aid in one ear and the BAHA for the other? So at a music concert you can more or less hear in stereo? Or does it all sound like it's going in one ear?
    Thanks.
    Anne, dx'ed April 2011

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    Quote Originally Posted by annekat View Post
    Great info, drz. The Oticon Ponto Plus is the model I would be getting at my audiologist's, which is part of the professional suite containing my ENT and others, and the allergy dept. Anyway, I'd better do it pretty soon if I'm going to, before Medicare decides to stop covering it again. I assume you still had a 20% copay, unless you have a special plan that picks up more of the cost. I didn't know there would be such a recuperation time before getting to use it (although I have a vague recollection of being told that), but it is good to hear that you are happy with it and able to enjoy music concerts. You are the only person besides me who I've known to have had the small bones of the middle ear erode. But I suppose there are more. Could you clarify, are you still using a standard aid in one ear and the BAHA for the other? So at a music concert you can more or less hear in stereo? Or does it all sound like it's going in one ear?
    Thanks.
    I saw a bill for 60 some grand but my only cost was gas to get to the Hearing Clinic for appointments and surgery. I think Medicare covered it all but not sure since I also have secondary insurance. The BAHA gives me sound through the skull and sounds goes all around skull so until a battery dies in one ear I can't tell which aid is warning of low battery when it beeps. I think I only hear on left side but sound is transferred from BAHA on right side through the skull. Without the aids I have about 10% hearing in left ear and none in right ear where there was a granuloma that wiped out hearing and balance on that side. I can't localize sound at all but ignore much fewer people now that I can hear sound coming from some place when they talk to me. Not hearing is very socially isolating and research indicates it also links to early dementia too so they advise to get hearing aids sooner than later to help avoid it.
    Knowledge is power! Wisdom is using it to make good decisions!

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    I don't remember being quoted a price anywhere near that much, but then my memory is unreliable. In my case, the surgery would be done somewhere else, independently of the hearing care clinic. I guess I should call Medicare and get the full scoop and talk to the audiologist again. Thanks for the info.
    Anne, dx'ed April 2011

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    Quote Originally Posted by annekat View Post
    I don't remember being quoted a price anywhere near that much, but then my memory is unreliable. In my case, the surgery would be done somewhere else, independently of the hearing care clinic. I guess I should call Medicare and get the full scoop and talk to the audiologist again. Thanks for the info.
    Usually what is billed to Medicare and/or insurances and what gets paid are greatly different. Willingness of a vendor to do work for Medicare rates also varies greatly. One doctor at Mayo wouldn't do it for Medicare rates so I went to state university medical clinic which usually have to accept Medicare. It took the doctor there only a few minutes to do the paperwork and get BAHA approved for me and set up a surgery date.
    Last edited by vdub; 04-14-2016 at 05:55 PM.
    Knowledge is power! Wisdom is using it to make good decisions!

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