Advice on hearing devices,please..

[wind6]

Hi all,
Well I saw my audiologist yesterday and the news is...a standard hearing device wont help me. Not enough usable hearing. So now the question is...do I opt for a Baha or a Cros aid?
I would like to hear from those of you that have the different types and get your opinions on how well they work for you. Can you tell me the pro's and con's?  Love and Hugz, Sherry

[Battyp]

Sherry, I was told because I had no usable hearing in my left ear that the baha wasn't an option and possibly a cross hearing aid might work.  I'm curious too everyone's opinions on this.  ) 

[amymeri]

I have no hearing in my right ear (heck, I have no 8th nerve anymore!) and my ENT suggested the BAHA as a MUCH better option for hearing.  He thinks the CROS aides aren't as good and patients don't like them.  The audiologist likes the cros and recommended it.  I think the BAHA is surgically implanted (so my surgeon likes it!) and the CROS is ordered by the hearing center (so my audiologist likes it!)

If I get one, it will be the BAHA.  I use a stethescope daily and can't have anything else in my ears!

[Battyp]

I wondered if you could hear ok with ssd and a stethescope.  Do you notice a big difference?

[amymeri]

I haven't tried it yet.  If I can't hear well then I will have to get an amplification system.  I will say that my hearing in the normal ear is very acute, and I don't notice a difference in most situations.  The stethescope cuts out all extraneous sound, so I am hoping that it will not pose a problem, since all my hearing issues revolve around backround noise/localization issues.  The BAHA won't help with the stethescope, but also won't interfere with getting a tight seal with the stethescope earpiece, so that's why I will go that route.

[Boppie]

We all know the BAHA is the best but, you need surgery to get the port installed.  I spoke a long time on the phone with an ANer and Cros Aid user.  She likes hers and the price.  Her main piece of advice was to try one and use it continuously for a few months before passing judgement.  Like anything else, it takes a while to develop a new habit.  The facts are, most purchasers of hearing devices, BAHA excluded, throw them away or carefully hide them in a drawer without giving them a fair trial period.  It will take patience to adjust to a Cros, I believe, but they work for lots of people.  The main drawback to the Cros is the two devices worn, one routing device behind the deaf ear and a second pickup and aid in the good ear canal.  However, I am planning to pursue the question of using a Cros this fall at my check up time.

I am still not interested in having the surgery for the BAHA.  The BAHA test band (metal head band that pushes the processor against the skull) gives awsome results, but you can't own that.

[Joef]

Sherry, I was told because I had no usable hearing in my left ear that the baha wasn't an option and possibly a cross hearing aid might work.  I'm curious too everyone's opinions on this.  ) 

they really told you that?  .. I have no hearing in my right ear, (trans-lab!, inner ear gone!) and love my BAHA .. I bet they have not done many BAHA's

[Raydean]

I'd like to add that persons with a recent hearing loss generally do much better with hearing aids then those that have had a long term hearing loss.  Long term hearing loss the brain has adjusted to the loss of hearing.. Those with long term hearing loss tend to be less satisfied with the results. thus those aids will often times end up in the drawer in greater numbers then those with recent hearing loss..  We've been researching the options and have held back purchasing due to our concerns over this matter.  (His treating doctor has the same concerns.)  $3000. plus $ is alot of money to spend for "maybe"  We have had evaluations with a few hearing centers and at times have felt "pushed or pressure" into purchasing the product that is being recommended.  The sale was more important then the workability of the product.  Remember we're talking into thousands of dollars here.

I wish that we could rent a aid prior to purchasing.  Most aids are digital and can be reset.  Makes me wonder why we can't.  I'd be willing to pay for the ear molds and computer programing.

Do you know that hearing aids are much cheaper in Europe.  I also wonder about that.  Good reason to go on vacation tho <g>. 

Just a few thoughts
Best to all
Raydean

[amymeri]

I read somewhere that you can get help paying for hearing aides (the BAHA is the one I heard about) from vocational rehab programs run through state governments.

[Raydean]

Amymeri

You're right. Medicare has recently started paying for the BAHA hearing systems which is great news for many.  The problem is not everyone's remaining hearing qualifies them for a BAHA,  The BAHA
has a criteria that must be met in order to receive a BAHA.  Due to high pitch tones loss we were told on more  then one occasion that the BAHA would not meet his needs.

State Vocab training will often cover the costs of hearing aids,  But if the outcomes are to many, or to severe for retraining, then there is no assistence in helping to pay for the hearing aids since retraining  will not be offered.

The  Lion's  service group has a wonderful program for helping the hearing impair with aids, which helps  many.  But unforunately the aids are pretty basic, not the type a ANer would need.

So the problem for many is affordability.  Costs for a good aid for many will start at $3000. and will often times be much more.  Some people will settle for something less, which doesn't meet their needs and ends up in a drawer not being used.  Having shopped around alittle I can tell you in some ways it's alot like  "buying a car", not the best experience. 

It's important to work with a good audiologist, not a company found within shopping centers that does mass advertisments.
Being this is a pricey investment, you want to make sure that you're getting the one right for you, rather then one that might not meet your needs.

Thank you for your reply
Best to all
Raydean

Bes 

[Sue]

Hi Guys,

Just got back from my hearing test this morning. The audiologist was very nice and was very experienced and my results are that my left AN side is in the severe hearing loss catagory and she said that a lot of AN patients are in the profound hearing loss catagory. She is setting me up for a hearing aide consultation appointment to go over my options. She said that to help preserve what hearing I do have, an aide would be recommended because over time, if not stimulated, the nerve will atrophy. And she said the hearing aide would help mask the tinnitus because the brain gets busy hearing other things and starts to not listen to the tinnitus. At least that's the jist of what she said.  Interesting, yes?  ANYWAY, does anyone on here who still has some hearing in their AN ear use an aide (besides a BAHA) and did it help you and does it mask tinnitus?  Thank you....

[Pablo]

I currently have a partial hearing loss in my AN ear,  the max hearing loss is about 36 dB at the mid frequencies ( 4k through 7 k Hz). Since I am a musician I would like to know whether at this stage  BAHA will help to compensate for that hearing loss. Stereo hearing is very important for me and those freqs are critical. Is it recommended in this case?
Thanks

[HeadCase2]

Pablo,
  I wouldn't think that BAHA would help with Stereo hearing.  But it has the potential to help hear sounds, in the freguencies you have a loss on, coming from the side you have the hearing loss on.  Some of the BAHA users report that the sounds coming from the BAHA side are a bit different, and take some getting used to.
  BAHA is really for people who have trouble with conversations, etc., because they can't hear some things coming from one side since their head is in the way of those sounds reaching the hearing ear.
Regards,
 Rob

[HeadCase2]

Pablo,
  I forgot to mention that several people on this site that have looked into BAHA say that many BAHA centers have a trial BAHA device that can be tried out to assess if you like it.
Rob

[Pablo]

Thanks Rob for the information. It sounds like not a lot of added value for my expectations since stereo image is important in this case.
Thanks again.
Pablo