Cross verses BAHA

[MusicTracy]

I am 7 months post gamma knife and just had my hearing retested.  I still have moderate to severe hearing loss with no speech discrimination.  Met with the audiologist regarding my options as it is very difficult for me to hear in group gatherings.  As a music therapist I am frequently in group situations working with children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders and having my hearing is very important to me.  I am frequently frustrated that I can not hear my individuals speaking or singing over the background noise in the group settings.

I was told my options are the Cros as I have great hearing in my unaffected ear or the BAHA.

I am really at a loss as to which one I should go with.  I understand there is a chance the insurance company will cover the BAHA but don't want that to be the one and only deciding factor.

[arizonajack]

I think you'll have the same problem with crowds and noisy environments no matter which way you go.

I've had the Phonak CROS for almost two years. It's great. Except for crowds and noisy environments like restaurants.

However, Phonak recently came out with the Roger Pen. It's a directional microphone that you can point at people you want to hear.

I'm getting one next month so I can't say anything about results yet but here is Phonak's web page with details. Look promising.

http://www.phonak.com/com/b2c/en/products/wireless-accessories/products/roger-pen/hearing-aid-accessory.html

[Echo]

I'm 6 months post Gamma Knife and just got my Phonak BiCros one week ago (see my post below yours called "Phonak BiCros so far so good".  I can't say enough good things about my personal experience.  Granted I am not SSD, but my word discrimination was at 20% and I had no end of trouble hearing people in many situations.  Work was especially tough if people were speaking beside or behind me. With all the surrounding noise and paging system going on, I really struggled.  For the past week I haven't once had to say "sorry I couldn't hear you".    I'm still getting used to using it in different environments so I can't say in large crowds what it's like, but for my day to day activities, I'm thrilled.

Cathie

[MusicTracy]

Thanks for the replies. Echo, I did read through your post about the bicros.  I am fortunate enough to only need the cros because I have no hearing loss in my other ear.  As I have normal hearing in my good ear how does it feel to have the hearing aid in the ear.   

Does anyone know how the cros or the baha deal with sudden loud noises as I work with children who struggle with impulse control and self-regulation.  I don't want to blow out my good ear.  For the past 7 months I have been trying to avoid loud instruments but don't think it is really fair to the children.

[Echo]

As I've mentioned in previous posts I wear the BTE (behind-the-ear) Phonak BiCros so I had to learn how to put them on properly with the tiny ends going in the ear canal.  It was a bit tricky the first few days, but now it's quite easy.  For the first 3 days I had a mild headache which felt like pressure coming from inside my ears.  I guess I was getting used to actually having something inside my ears! By the fifth day I realized that I couldn't feel them in my ears at all and I felt perfectly normal - no headaches and they were perfectly comfortable. 

As for loud noises, others may have more experience with the Cros than I do.  They come with a remote control that allows you to adjust the volume.  I have mine set so that voices are easily heard all around me while at work.  Unfortunately we have a very active paging system, which is fairly loud so it's the one annoying thing I have to deal with.  I've had to play around with the volume to find a comfortable setting that allows for both people speaking normally and the paging system.

Cathie

[Kristena]

I am curious about this subject as well. I'm 9 mos post-op and am SSD. I had the official, "yep, you are deaf in your right ear" appointment, and now I'm scheduled to meet with an otologist about a hearing aid. I thought it was interesting that my ENT said I was only a candidate for a BAHA (because I don't wear glasses?) But from everything I've read here, the CROS sounds like a perfect fit. I definitely mentioned the CROS when I scheduled my appt. I'm just not excited about having my head cut open again if there's another solution that could work just as well. 

How long should it all take? How many appts? Do you normally get to leave right away with a test product or anything? How long does it usually take to order your final product? Any information you could provide would be appreciated.

[Echo]

The day of my last hearing test was when I decided I was ready to go ahead and purchase the BiCros.  My word discrimination had dropped to 20% and with my good ear not being 100% I was noticing problems at work and various social situations.  The audiologist took about 5 minutes to do some measuring and we were done.  The BiCros was ready for me to pick up two weeks after my appointment.  The initial appointment to pick up the BiCros was 1 hour. The audiologist reviews how to wear it, how to clean it and she does some adjusting to the settings.  I left the hospital wearing it and have never looked back!  It's great.  I go back in one more week (3 weeks after picking it up) so the audiologist can add some programs, make some further adjustments and see how I'm doing. 

Not sure if all audiologists work the way mine does, but she wanted me to have 3 weeks to adjust to wearing them set at the basic "auto" setting.  Once I had adjusted to wearing them and the new sounds I was hearing, she said she would add the different programs for me to start getting used to.

Not sure how it works in the US, but here in Toronto, I have a 90 day trial period where if I cannot adjust to wearing the BiCros (or any other hearing aid), it can be returned for either cash or an exchange of product. 

I do wear glasses and most of the time I have no trouble wearing both the glasses and the BiCros.  I get a little frustrated when switching glasses as I have a separate pair of glasses for working on the computer, a separate pair of prescription sunglasses and then my regular walking around and reading glasses.  They all fit slightly different, so some pairs require a bit more wiggling to make sure they are straight. 

Good luck and let us know how you make out.
Cathie

[chloes mema]

Kristena

I also wear the Phonak BiCros, I highly recommend it.

Last week when I saw my neurotologist he said he would email a brochure on the BAHA.  When I asked if that entailed surgery, he said yes.  When he saw the look on my face he said well it's something to think about; you may want to wait a few years till the next generation comes out.

I told him I already used the Phonak BiCros.  He said I wouldn't gain that much more by switching to the BAHA.  Since I'm the original chicken little that did it for me.  Not that much more gain for the pain.

I agree with ArizonaJack that it does have it's weakness in crowds and restaurants but then I make sure I sit with my bad ear away from the people I want to converse with.  Ideally, if I can get a seat with my bad ear towards a wall for some reason that seems to work for me.  Also, I do tend to turn my head more so that my good ear points toward the person / people that I want to converse with.  This though I think is an old habit from way before I had hearing aids or knew what an AN was. 

I do take my hearing aids totally out when I go to see a movie.  Even with them out, the sound in the theaters is way too loud for me which is actually uncomfortable.

On a serious side, do your homework and pick what you feel you'll be comfortable with and can handle. 

Karen

[Kristena]

Well today's appt was a bit of a waste. I'd been waiting for this otologist to come to a clinic closer to my home (which he only does once a month), and he told me today I'll have to make an appt at the other clinic, since that is where their "hearing aid showroom" is. I hope next time I'll be able to take a test drive! 

He did ease my fears a bit about the BAHA. How it's just a small puncture in the skin and not created with a scalpel. And it would be just one hearing aid and not two. And it can be removed if I don't like it. But most people LOVE them. I guess I'll try again later...

[MusicTracy]

Saw the audiologist and my doctor yesterday.  Made the decision to go with the Oticon BAHA.  Surgery is scheduled for May 16th.  Does anyone have any advice for me?  I am a little scared, I have never had surgery on my head, my Acoustic Neuroma was treated with the Gamma Knife last August.  I was surprised the doctor told me I could go back to work in 2 to 3 days.  He also said I could wash my hair after 48 hours. 

[cookej]

Although a bit larger skin incision, Cochlear now has a magnetic attachment instead of the post, so nothing sticks through the skin.  Believe that it's called BAHA Attract.  Just made available in the US, but sounds like it's been around for a while in Australia.

I'm about a year out from surgery with 100% loss in AN ear and normal hearing in the other, so trying to give the non-aided hearing a good try before going forward.  The problem that I see posted often is that the environments that are the most difficult (loud, restaurants, outdoors, etc), are also difficult with CROS and BAHA.  Still thinking about it, but posts do provide some hope if I finally go through with some sort of aid.

[leapyrtwins]

Had my BAHA implant 9 months post AN op (in March 2008).  Absolutely LOVE it.

I started with a Cochlear Divino and moved up to a BP100. 

Implant surgery is a piece of cake; nothing at all like AN surgery.  Usually outpatient and lasts about 90 minutes - and a good amount of that time is spent draping you.  I had my surgery while wide awake with local anesthesia (lidocaine); 90% of my docs patients opt to have the surgery that way - although he will "put you under" if you insist.  I actually walked out of the hospital after the surgery was over and went about my normal day.

Had very little pain - nothing an Extra Strength Tylenol couldn't fix - although they usually give you a Rx for something like Vicodan since everyone tolerates pain differently.

Recovery/healing is usually easy and without complications.

Am forever grateful to my neurotologist for recommending the BAHA.  It's not for everyone, but personally I couldn't imagine having something in my ear (hearing aid) or my mouth (Sound Byte).  To each his own, but the BAHA has been a Godsend to me.

Best,

Jan

[MusicTracy]

Cookej,

 FYI, When making the final decision I was informed I could not get the attract BAHA because I still need MRIs to monitor my acoustic neuroma. Magnets and MRIs do not mix.

Tracy

[movinguy]

I am currently trying out the Cros - I am SSD in my left ear (from AN removal) and have 100% hearing in my right ear.

So far I'd rate it a "B" . . . the good thing is it's highly programmable and I'm going back to the audiologist next week to tweak some settings.  The units are very small (barely visible), and I can switch between standard and "Bi" (boosted) mode with a little button on the back.

As others have stated, doesn't help much in a crowded/noisy environment.

[Kristena]

I made the leap and scheduled my Baha surgery! I was leaning that way anyway, then I found out that my insurance doesn't cover hearing aids, and the Baha isn't considered a hearing aid.

I scheduled for a Friday to allow the most recovery before returning to work. Can anyone recall the recovery process? Is that going to be long enough? Do you know if you get to try out the headband while waiting for the ossification to take place? (I'm going to ask about that.) I would assume the snapping on and off is a bit tender at first? Does the snap start out super tight and loosen over time?

Also, I had the choice of the magnet model, but it was quite a bit larger than the other.