ANA Discussion Forum
Post-Treatment => Post-Treatment => Topic started by: bpham on September 08, 2007, 10:16:34 pm
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How is transear compared to BABA and other similar devices?
Thanks for sharing any experiences.
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I would like to know too - as this coming week I will be seeing my ENT (he did part of my AN surgery) and I want to talk to him about my options. I am really interested in the Trans Ear because there is no surgery involved. I have had enough of that (for the rest of my life as far as I'm concerned).
Margaret
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Cant compare transear for you but I have a BAHA. The surgery was my biggest fear and it truly was EASY! I'm very glad I did it and I like my BAHA.
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Pembo,
Could you describe the process of installation and also the experience of maintaining the thing? Was there any issue? How is the hearing on the SSD with it compared to when you had your normal hearing?
Thanks for any detailed info.
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To get the TransEAr you need to have a few things checked out about the bone density in your ear canal. Plus your hearing scores in the middle and lower ranges need to be good. These tests are done by your audiologist who orders a fitting kit from TransEAr. A mold is made of your ear canal. Then TransEAr builds a unit to specifications for your ear. The unit, programming software, and a Dry and Store cleaning box are sent to your audiologist for the fitting appointment. From there you work with the audiologist to get a comfortable fit, programming for two different settings, and instructions on inserting the mold, caring for the unit and what to expect for break in time. Most users come out with a great fit the first go round, I think. After a few weeks of use, my TransEar became a part of everyday life.
Check out the TransEar site. I am just a user, not into sales or promotions.
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There is no substitue for direction finding in any hearing aid. But, once you get comfortable to using an aid and benefitting from sound on your deaf side again, you get over being bothered by being SSD. In the beginning I was constantly confounded by the direction problem. Now I just have to chuckle. Things could be worse. I could have serious vison loss and really be up a creek. Being able to converse with a person on my deaf side is so much better now with a hearing aid.
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Boppie -
can you give us a run down of some of the pros and cons of a TransEar? It seems to me from what I've read on this forum, that the wires on the TransEar can sometimes be a problem, but maybe that's just my perception since I don't have one. I would also find it helpful to know why you chose a TransEar over a BAHA, as right now I am leaning towards the BAHA myself. I know that everyone makes different choices but I'd be very interested in knowing how you made your decision.
Thank you,
Jan
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Great question Jan. I would like to know too.
Margaret
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Boppie,
I'm a bit unclear about what you said: "Plus your hearing scores in the middle and lower ranges need to be good". In the case that I'll have Translab procedure, my hearing would be gone on the left side, and therefore there would be no hearing left on the AN side. Is it possible to use TRANSEAR?
Thanks
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Also, I forgot to ask the approximate price for Transear?
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I also chose to go the TransEar way. I'm sort of young (44) and I figure that there may be even better products in the future. I don't want to have something permanently attached to my head. The hearing aid is much easier to use. Nothing is as good as your regular hearing was, but it is nice to be able to gather sounds from the deaf side. I can carry on a conversation with someone on my deaf side with no problem now. TransEar is very easy to work with, too. I think the cost varies depending on your audiologist. Mine was $2400. Some are closer to $2900. It's a lot of money, but far cheaper than the BAHA.
Jean
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My BAHA was covered by insurance. The surgery was easy. They took me into the OR, put me to sleep and I woke up about 45 mins later and was home by lunch with a bandage on my head. I had a low-grade headache for a week or so. The most pain I had was the night of surgery and I just used otc Tylenol and Advil. As for the headache, just otc Tylenol for me. Maintaining it is easy. I just wash my hair. Once in awhile I have my husband look at the abutment and occasionally it's sore so I put some neosporin on it over night and it's fine.
My biggest complaint was all the "junk" in my hair from surgery....the ointment. It took a lot of hair washing with Dawn detergent to get all the grease out. :)
Three months later I got my "lego" to snap on the abutment in my head. I've had no problems with it. It works great, it's not perfect hearing but it definitely helps. I don't always realize I'm wearing it, but if I forget to put it on, I definitely notice. The BAHA snaps on and off with ease.
Hope that helps, feel free to ask any specific questions........
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I also chose to go the TransEar way. It's a lot of money, but far cheaper than the BAHA.
Jean
Jean or any other BAHA user -
can you give us the approximate cost of the BAHA (surgery included)? I'm just looking for a ballpark figure.
Thanks,
Jan
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Oh gosh! words can be tough, huh?
After translab you'd wear a hearing aid on the deaf ear to pick up the sound and it would be sent either by bone or air conduction to the good side (remaining hearing ear).
For a TransEar hearing bone conduction aid...
Your hearing ear side needs good scores in the low and medium ranges to get the best benefit from TransEar; to say in another way, if your hearing scores poor in only the high range, you can still benefit from TransEar, because TransEar works with the low and mid ranges.
Boppie,
I'm a bit unclear about what you said: "Plus your hearing scores in the middle and lower ranges need to be good". In the case that I'll have Translab procedure, my hearing would be gone on the left side, and therefore there would be no hearing left on the AN side. Is it possible to use TRANSEAR?
Thanks
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Jan, I believe you read about wires coming off some TransEar units. I think those problems are straightened out now. I, myself, have a new soft wire for my early model TransEar to replace the older hard wire. While it took some getting used to grasping the unit just right with the soft wire dangling, I've mastered the insertion again. I find the new soft wire to be a better conductor and making louder sound for me. I am very happy with the new wire. I had a thread about 'TransEar gets better every day'; and again, I repeat...
We look forward to newer and better changes.
What I would like is a gizmo that is teeny, tiney, added to my TransEAr that would alert me in some fashion for sound directionality. Maybe some day. :)
Why did I choose the TransEar over BAHA? I just didn't want the drill, the head pain, and anesthetic again so soon after my tumor surgery. That's it in a nutshell. TransEar is not invasive. BAHA might be less visible, but my friends mention when I don't have my TransEar in my ear, so I think they like it. I think my SSD is some sort of goofy symbol for them. ;D
I rather like my hearing aid in the ear.
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Boppie -
thanks for your input and clarifiying the wire issue.
I, too, am a little put off by the drill, but think I can get around that feeling. Afterall, I was originally put off by the retrosigmoid surgery and I got through that just fine. From what I understand, the BAHA surgery is much less invasive than the retrosigmoid :)
I'm glad you like your TransEar. It sounds like you made the right choice for you.
Jan
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I think the whole baha thing was around $14,000.
The surgery truly was EASY! I was very nervous and having at the same hospital where I had my surgery was quite unnerving. Having to revisit those memories of surgery day was tough. BUT it was easy. They started an IV, I was rolled into the OR, I went to sleep, I woke up about 45 mins later and within an hour I was on my way home. The bandage was cumbersome but I got to take it off after the first night. That first night I had a horrible headache but I'm a wimp with pain meds so I was only taking otc tylenol and advil. The next day was just a low grade headache.
I have 3 kids so down time isn't something I get a lot of. I had surgery on a Friday, the kids were at my parents house for the weekend, and I was back to mom-duty by Monday.
As for my hair, they only shaved a very small section and it was unnoticable except to my hairdresser. I have shoulder length hair. My hairdresser has done an excellent job of cutting my layers to hide the BAHA. With my hair down, no one knows it is even there.
Please don't be put off by the surgery. It really was easy.
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I tried both the Transear and the BAHA band at the Symposium. I had good luck with the Transear, but couldn't get as good a bone conduction with the BAHA band....of course the real BAHA would do a much better job. I think about both options, but there's one thing that stops me that I'm still trying to work out. I don't like sound now, and I'm worried that more sound will just make me feel worse. Did any of you feel that way about ambient noise before you got the devices? Did it help or make it worse? If I'm around too much sound like a noisy restaurant, I end up going home and putting on my noise cancellation headphones and try to get it as quiet as possible.
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Gennysmom, When I use any type of noise caceller or ear plug I try to do so for very short periods. I think my brain could become too comfortable in silence. Too much quiet is not good for me.