General Category > Hearing Issues
Opinions about BAHA
Theham:
I realize I am a bit late in posting but figured that my inputs may be valuable to folks.
I am a 39yr old man who has been SSD since well it's all I've ever known. I recently at the end of May 2017 had the surgery to have the BAHA implanted. I am still in the healing and recovery period. The one thing that stuck with me and resonated was the subtle effects when trying the headband during testing. I chose the Cochlear brand due to the ease of integrations with technology that I use everyday. From the standpoint of having another tool I can use to communicate with hearing folks is important to me, as is having better access to sound for things like crossing the street both hearing and seeing vehicles I may otherwise have missed. It is still a highly personal choice that isn't right for everyone but I felt it was right for me based on the increased hearing loss on my deaf side.
Thankfully the community of folks around me have been highly supportive and the best anyone could ask for - more than anything finding support is going to help you find your answers .
Hope the quick thoughts above help. The initial effects I am expecting to be fairly subtle but eventually I am hopeful my brain will figure it all out and I'll end up with the indispensable tool I know it can be.
I do have support from folks in the medical community as well as speech pathologists who work with both aided and unaided hearing impaired children. Both have clearly stated that the positive quality of life changing effects are huge. I've also spoke with folks who say this type of tool isn't for them. It's no easy choice.
MaryQ:
Hi everyone.....Just wanted to give an update since my prior post. I went to a different doctor who does many more BAHA surgeries. He was over an hour away but it was worth it. I had another headband trial and it worked out much better than the original one. They let me keep it longer and I tried it out in different situations and it seemed to help. I went to a noisy restaurant and was able to hear the waitress on my left side! I understand that it will even sound better with the abutment. The office was able to get approval from my insurance company and I had the surgery just before Thanksgiving. I am very excited to be getting my Ponto in February. Right now I am still having a little irritation and possible infection around the abutment. The doctor has me on oral antibiotics and Bactroban. This is getting me a little depressed and I hope I will not be battling infections all the time. The doctor said it was not unusual to have an infection right after the surgery. Has anyone had this problem and if so did it get better with time?
alabamajane:
Hi MaryQ,
I did have some minor irritations with slight drainage in the beginning ; however, they will subside with good cleaning hygiene of the area,, after healing,,,, it’s been about 4 yrs since I had that surgery but I don’t remember any serious infection that wasn’t easily cleared. Hang in there,, it does get better after healing of the area.
I’ve read of a few people who had issues after healing but not many as I remember.
Good luck,, maybe others will respond,,
Jane
Kjayhill:
Mary,
I did the Oticon Ponto MIPS surgery about 6 months ago. It was only 5 months after my AN. I struggled with my balance as my nerve was removed and I felt like the SSD was making it worst.
Also, I had 100% hearing going into a Middle Fossa surgery so I had high hopes the hearing would be saved. I love, love, love my BAHA. It helps so much with the checking out in the grocery store, noisy restaurants, drive thru at the bank and so on. I had no issues with infections and have no trouble just basically cleaning it with the brush 1-2 times a week. I am very OCD so I do wash around it nightly with baby shampoo. The hardest part for me is I hate to take it off. I do find if I wear it for more than 12 hours it gets a little achy. I am hoping one day they will come up with a solution where we can wear it while working out or swimming!.
Good luck in your decision! Try to do a test drive of all options.
Let me know if you need more information.
Thanks,
Kathy
MaryQ:
Well it's been 2 weeks since I got my Ponto turned on. Actually I don't notice much improvement in my hearing. I still need to use the closed captions for the TV. The background noise is just louder and I'm not getting the speech clarity I was hoping for. It also seemed to give me headaches. BUT the absolute worse was today as I was snapping my Ponto on it slipped and I started bleeding. I also noticed that the abutment is now loose. I've had nothing but problems since I got this surgery and since I'm not getting much improvement from it, I may just have the doctor remove it. I feel bad that I only got to use it for such a short time. Has anyone had so many problems?
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version