What Do the triangle’s mean on this photo of my audiogram?

#1

Hi Just wondering what the triangles above the audiogram for my left ear mean on the attached picture are they anything to do with bone conduction? I’m currently in the process of thinking about asking about a Baha at my annual ent check up in November as my ears have always been sensitive due to the way the canal is shaped and the left is becoming more sensitive as time goes by especially in recent weeks. I was looking at this picture and not sure what the triangles mean?

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I would be grateful for any help someone can give me in understanding this

#2

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#3

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Clear as mud lol.

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#4

Thank you very much i had seen that information before and understand the right ear but I’m still no clearer as i was looking at this uk website link below and it makes to no clearer to me as the right ear is straight forward to understand but the the left ear has the cross with the arrow which means no response and then there is the vt vibrio tactile and then the triangles and the little c symbol with the down arrow Types of Deafness - Ears & Hearing UK I’m just trying to work out if i fall into the criteria for implant referral for a Baha of my hospital

#5

Maybe @Neville or @Um_bongo could help with this question.

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#6

Thank you @Raudrive i hope someone will be able to help as I’m kind of in a bit of a position where i don’t know if it’s worth asking about or not and just was trying to understand the symbols more to see if i could get an idea of what it mean’t

#7

No idea, looks like a non-standard use of triangles to me. (Also a non-standard use of hourglasses. :P)

Always worth asking. That audiogram suggests to me that you have no hearing at all in your left ear. Is that right? For how long? Were you thinking about getting a BAHA or a CI? There are some potential downsides with both. The audiogram is recommending a BiCROS–is that what you’ve got now?

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#8

@Neville yes i have a bi cros currently but i am finding that my left is becoming more sensitive to having the cros in it I’ve always since birth been prone to infections and have had a very short weird shaped ear canals in both ears and they have always been sensitive to infections and dry skin. So on recommendation i use a spray to prevent infection before putting them in and when taking them out. I also use a d dry every other day and the disinfecting wipes every morning. I was thinking of the Baha as i don’t think my left ear would meet the criteria for a cochlear and i already know that unless my hearing drops more on my right i am not a candidate for a cochlear on that side. I have had no hearing in my left ear since having mumps at the age of 8

#9

I also suspect your left ear would not meet CI criteria.

The trouble with the BAHA is that it would not be able to amplify high frequencies for you, and this issue would get worse over time if your right ear is progressing. I don’t know that this would disqualify you necessarily, so worth talking to them.

Your CROS doesn’t have to be in your ear at all, just on top of your ear. Can your clinician have a custom tip made with a skeleton lock but no canal?

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#10

@Neville I will definitely ask about the Baha my hearing hasn’t changed much in the last few years the only reason they are keeping a yearly check with ent is because I had a 20db drop in a year due to having had quite a few infections while waiting to pick up my moulds during the pandemic. I did have something a bit like what you described at one point but the slightest knock and it would just not stay in place which is why they changed me to domes at first and then moulds due to being allergic to the material the domes where made of.

Would you be able to wear a hearing aid with a Baha ?

#11

Yes.

Note, you can also just take the wire off of the CROS completely and stick it behind your ear with wig tape.

#12

@Neville thank you very much for that information I’m going to go ahead and make my enquiry’s in November and see if i get any luck with that. I just hope that i meet the hospital’s criteria for referral to there implant unit

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#13

That table is wrong in the U.K.

The triangles refer to unmasked BC. Once you use masking and correctly identify which cochlea is hearing the sound you use the open box symbol with the open face to the correct ear.

Normally there would be a Right BC marker on the right graph. The left BC (or No Response) would be marked on the left graph.

Surely that’s a clear case for a wireless Bi-CROS as any chart you’re going to see?

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#14

Thanks, I didn’t want to guess so did a Google search.

#15

@Um_bongo thank you for that so according to what you have said it looks like i might fall into the criteria for my hospital been doing some research into hearing aids that might work with the Baha and found this don’t know if you or anyone can help me understand this https://cdn1-originals.webdamdb.com/13512_118632903?cache=1649363373&response-content-disposition=inline;filename=MK604586-gu-bimodal-compatibility-guide.pdf&response-content-type=application/pdf&Policy=eyJTdGF0ZW1lbnQiOlt7IlJlc291cmNlIjoiaHR0cCo6Ly9jZG4xLW9yaWdpbmFscy53ZWJkYW1kYi5jb20vMTM1MTJfMTE4NjMyOTAzP2NhY2hlPTE2NDkzNjMzNzMmcmVzcG9uc2UtY29udGVudC1kaXNwb3NpdGlvbj1pbmxpbmU7ZmlsZW5hbWU9TUs2MDQ1ODYtZ3UtYmltb2RhbC1jb21wYXRpYmlsaXR5LWd1aWRlLnBkZiZyZXNwb25zZS1jb250ZW50LXR5cGU9YXBwbGljYXRpb24vcGRmIiwiQ29uZGl0aW9uIjp7IkRhdGVMZXNzVGhhbiI6eyJBV1M6RXBvY2hUaW1lIjoyMTQ3NDE0NDAwfX19XX0_&Signature=Zm882wd-4Vu-f-dVDDb26mdWDX6OOS5aLSqvffKYjmh25qE--UrSqNBBKWurpEiv95goLE3xXraDATeN~Cr6Q7tyEgQZb-YMVHgFFdGRnnsOulGl3QQWLa0Ze0DpM2B0tFFnlNMBfUJjDhhAhHSj4bsi4YjEWvj8RPbYg34QzRLifA6oRm4vuS3qw0-2UyuokoUe1GHPRRXQBNgevlEWuVOO-WhXj4yc~dKn0Q8BfPiNA7rq8ypMWed15-hBN9JONo1oWJiVk1OFsU9Tt-YFTrDMqRF-IbJJUUtMuYy29gFmg-RpIzIzHjFEbMVu~bkMXPJDJ~FnjCKtBCjqQezwOQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAI2ASI2IOLRFF2RHA

#16

That link shows that only Cochlear Implants will work with Resound HAs.

@LRav

#17

No, the left ear is practically redundant.

The BC triangle symbols on the left chart are inaccurately marked. They are the BC result for the right ear.

The left ear BC is indicated by the open boxes with the left side missing. These show the BC is beyond the recordable level of the Bone Conduction transducer: by the ‘out of range’ arrow indicating no response.

You have negligible cochlear function on the left and a Moderately/Severe Average ski-slope HF loss on your Right.

I’d fit an Oticon More1-3 BiCROS RIC, depending on budget. Forget the LHS surgery - there’s nothing to play with. Also the BAHA option is nonsense due to the transcranial mixing risk in you ‘good’ Right cochlear.

I’d also go and see another Audiologist who can tell their right from their left when testing people with slightly more complex needs than usual. Preferably one who uses a PC based audiometer that they know how to operate.

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#18

@Um_bongo thanks for that i’ll get them to redo the bone conduction on my left as that photo was an original test done when i first went there by someone who no longer works with them i think since they changed buildings to a different place. So would be good to get a better idea of what is going on. They won’t do the oticon for me there as they mainly deal in phonak and are only just now getting in some oticon’s as well and being disabled i can’t afford to go much further out than i am already going for appointments at this place as it takes up a whole day going there and i can’t afford to go private with the current change in prices for cost of living and the next place with a good rating on the nhs is much further away

#19

Ok, good to get another test. That one is misleading.

The downside of the Phonak RIC rechargeable system is that the CROS unit only lasts about 12hours. Ok if you’re on a battery.

I’d push for the Oticon if at all possible.

#20

Is that common for anyone?

Lewis, a BBC News Presenter has just got a Cochlear Osia for SSD.

Think he couldn’t use CROS Aids due to having to wear an ear piece for his work.

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