Changed my analogue BAHA to a digital one! Hate it!

I was born with Treacher Collins have a conductive moderate/severe hearing loss and have worn behind the ear analogue hearing aids since I was eleven years old changing to BAHA when I was 40years old. Sadly my old BAHA has given up the ghost it cannot be repaired there are no similar aids to what I was using and last week was issued with digital BAHA cochlear BP100. I hate it!! Sounds are soft I am struggling to hear the voices and when I do there is an echo with a tinny effect. I find myself switching the volume up all and down all day, switch it up and it screams at me so have to turn it down, but I just simply don’t seem to be hearing as sharply. My head feels like there is a pressure on top and tension up and down my neck. I contacted Audiology as I was having a problem with hearing aid screaming to discover I had not replaced the door of the battery chamber properly, once I had corrected this I mentioned the above issues that I was having with new BAHA to be told this was normal and that I was to try and stop stressing as this was contributing to my not hearing so well, that I had to perservere for at least twelve weeks as this was necessary to ensure I was adapting to it before it could be tweaked. Not happy with my situation why am I been forced to wear digital when I have always used analogue hearing aids is this fair???!!! Does anyone else here on this forum understand the issues I am facing?? Can you help advise me please??

I know exactly how you feel. I had an analogue Baha for over 20 years. I loved it, it transformed my life overnight. Then last year I got the new digital BAHA - and was told that the old one could no longer be serviced, so I really have no option but to persist. But it has taken a lot of tweaking to get my digi-BAHA even to a state that I find tolerable. For all that it has 3 programs, there’s only one I can actually live with and I don’t consider it an improvement over my analogue one. Maybe I had the other for too long and maybe I need to just accept that my hearing will not be improved with digital aids, but it really pisses me off that “progress” seems actually to be one step forwards and two steps back.

I can only suggest you keep pestering your audiologist. Difficulty is that they rarely seem to understand and it’s hard to get mine to focus on what I’m saying rather than on what he thinks he can tweak next.

You’re not alone. Good Luck!

Thank you so much for your reply it encourages me as I do feel alone with it at the moment. Heading to Audiology today to see if they can tweak it for me. Can I ask which make of BAHA do you have and which programme suits as I have Coclear BAHA BP100 and find myself putting mine into music one the other two programmes is too soft can’t hear. Other problem I have is loop programme not on yet used this faculty lots with old one not been able to use this yet as they had no loops for me. Will let you know how I get on thank again :-). Lynda

I also have the BP100. And also use it exclusively on the “music” program.

I had a lot of problems with feedback, which limited the degree to which I could increase the volume. Then I made some slight “modifications” which helped immensely. :wink:

— Updated —

I also have the BP100. And also use it exclusively on the “music” program.

I had a lot of problems with feedback, which limited the degree to which I could increase the volume. Then I made some slight “modifications” which helped immensely. :wink:

If you have a Baha 2 implant system you could also try an Oticon Medical Ponto or Ponto Plus device if it’s available in your region. Baha 3 and newer abutments are not compatible with the Ponto devices.

Darn. I never got to try a soft/head band analog BAHA. I just started with digital BAHAs from Cochlear (Baha 5 Power with softband) and Oticon (Ponto 3 with headband). They are better than my first digital bone conduction hearing aid (Oticon Sumo DM [non-BAHA]) since I have been using Oticon’s bone analog types [non-BAHA] like 380P. I wonder how much I would like analog BAHAs over digital BAHAs without surgerical implants.