Tried the Baha but they want me to start with custom molds!

Bone Conduction Hearing Aids
#1

Hi,

So I tried the Baha on right side only(headband). I felt the hearing was way clearer then with the usual aids I wear. After going back and forth; first told I was a candidate, then recommending going with molds and hearing aid adjustments first. Had to wait until my hearing tests a month apart were similar because of my fluctuations in the past and infections. This just happened and I get the molds this coming week.

I figure I will try them but the sound felt so good with the Baha I’m feeling I will end up there!!!

I had no issue “adjusting” with the Baha trail. Is that normal? And the fact they tell me the trial won’t sound near as good as the headband - I’m thinking I should just go ahead with the surgery as insurance will cover it completely!!!

I’m a little worried that I will appear “deaf” with the abutting piece and treated differently. But honestly at this stage I feel too young to be struggling in public/ noisy places!!!

#2

Which Baha model are you trying?: You mention an abutment, so I assume you mean Oticon, with the post? I have a Cochear Osia, that doesn’t use a post. The external processor adheres by magnet. In any case, yes, you are right: the actual implant, no matter which style you use, will sound much better than the headband. Much better. So…I think your instincts are probably right here.

Another thing: wearing a Baha doesn’t mean that you can’t ALSO wear a normal hearing aid. I wear the Osia alone in all normal situations because I find it provides better amplification and speech recognition than my BTE aids. For live music, or for playing my guitar, I use the Osia turned down to low volume in conjunction with BTE hearing aids. the Osia has restored the mid/;high frequency profound loss in my right ear. But the microphone, or perhaps the system itself, isn’t very good alone with playing music. In conjunction with my bte aids it’s brilliant.

If your insurance will cover the baha, you’re lucky (mine did, or I could never have afforded it!) I would go for it while the going is good! there’s really no downside.

p.s. you mention infections. That’s another thing. It’s great not having aids in your ears, and if moisture is causing infections, that’s a concern. However, the post/abutment style BAHA also can have issues with infections around the post. This isn’t an issue with the Osia. I have eustachian tube disfunction, which can plug up my hearing. A BAha works around that, so that’s not as big an issue either.

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#3

I’m trying to figure out what the comment, “I’m too young to be struggling in public” is supposed to mean.

#4

Sorry; meant to say public places. It’s actually any place with any sort of background noise. It’s not that I can’t hear. It’s more a clarity issue. Perfect example is the other day a friend asked me had I seen “Matt” I gave 10 mins talking when he realized I was taking about another friend called Pat………this seems to happen with me a lot.

#5

This sure sounds like you need a pair of properly fit hearing aids and yes it sure looks like you need earmolds.

Consonants need upper frequencies. Matt/Pat

Unless I missed something about one ear not having any word understanding, why a cross over?

#6

That’s called speech comprehension. Similar sounding words are misinterpreted. Your score will go a long way in determining how much your aids will help in that area

#7

I agree that ear molds may help a lot and make the need for a baha irrelevant. It makes sense to try molds and perhaps more powerful aids.

#8

It may be visible, but while people recognize a hearing aid, most people do not recognize a BAHA. I’d think you’d be less likely to be treated differently for being ‘deaf’ and more likely to have to contend with people obviously trying to manage their curiosity vs. social inhibition around asking what is on your head.

#9

Thanks for the response. I believe it’s the Baha 6 Max Processor………

#10

BAHA is a type of hearing aid. A variety of manufacturers make baha aids. My Cochlear Osia is a baha. again, if your baha model will use a post, it’s likely Oticon. These are very good. You might do a bit of research on line about the types of Baha aids. Mine doesn’t use a post. Also, I have fairly long hair, and it pretty much covers the Osia processor. No one has ever asked about it.

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#11

@Johnmurphy

@jeffrey

As he said a 6 Max, it’s likely to be a Cochlear 6 Max BAHA as that’s there current.

https://hearmore.cochlear.com/baha/bone-conduction-hearing-solutions/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hm-baha&utm_content=baha-brand&utm_term=baha%206&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIksKL-_6Q-gIVx7HtCh2qvAnCEAAYASAAEgIvuvD_BwE

#12

I go to get the molds today. However when there I want to inquire more about the Baha since the hearing seemed so much clearer on the trial……one reservation I have is while wearing the headband I had to go see ENT. While sitting in the Dr chair I was getting feed back noise while the Baha was touching the back of the chair. Is this a common occurrence when you lie you head against pillow, back of chair etc? Thanks.

#13

Someone who goes to my Deaf Centre has a Med El Middle Ear Implant and gets feedback when she leans against a high back chair.

Her implant/processor is placed quite high tho which may be the issue?

#14

Where they place the implant, and so where the processor sits, is somewhat determined by the the thickness of one’s mastoid bone. Most people get an implant or post placed just above and behind the ear. On the side of the head. I have no feedback issues with the Osia. I frequent a forum for folks with BAHAs and this isn’t a common topic…I think! I actually haven’t been there for some time. No issues!

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#15

Saw a good bumper-sticker. …Getting Old Isn’t for Wimps…

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#16

The Osia is Cochlear’s most recent system, I believe. They don’t call it a baha, but it is, essentially. It just uses different means for transferring sound to the implanted processor than an abutment. However looking just now I see they have a magnetic version of the 6. Probably this is better than an abutment, in that many people end up with small recurring infections around the post.

#17

I wear bte aids and no one has noticed them in quite a while . . I also have found that when they do notice the aids they don’t treat differently. It’s when I can’t hear them or misinterpret what they say that things change.

#18

Same here.

When someone did see my blue ear moulds, that I had at the time, she asked me why I had blue tac in my ears!! When I said they were hearing aids, she was very embarrassed.

#19

@jeffrey on the side that you have the cochlear Osia did you have any remaining hearing or that ear dead as i currently wear cros aids and they work quite well but was thinking about maybe it’s time to ask about the Baha. I was thinking about asking about the osia but don’t know if it will work for my left ear so was wondering what your Baha side’s hearing was like before you got the Baha osia if you don’t mind me asking?

#20

Sure. I’ve been to lazy to fish out and reprocuce my audiogram; sorry. I have serious to profound ski slope loss on my right ear; poor across the board but increasing starting about mid way in the decibel range. My left ear is pretty good! What got me the Osia was that I have eustachian tube dysfunction that impairs my overall hearing in the long allergy season. A Baha circumvents this.
With the Osia, my right ear tests at normal or jsut below straight across the audiogram. I mean, it’s remarkable. It makes sense, since my cochlear nerve is fine and my loss is centered, I think, in the hammer anvil and stirrup being poor (damaged and badly replaced due to colesteotoma (sp.)).

by the way, I ‘hear’ through the Osia on my left side, in that the mastoid conducts all around the skull and the input from the right side carries over.