General Category > Hearing Issues
BAHA vs PONTO
neetze1:
I am confused! Which one is better, the BAHA or the PONTO? Are they both essentially the same?
I have an audiologist that thinks the PONTO is better but went to a support group meeting recently and there was a speaker that showed us a BAHA and she felt the BAHA was better (she worked for BAHA so she would think that) I don't know what to think now and can't change my mind once the abutment is put in.
Any suggestions? ???
CHD63:
Ideally if you can demo both products, you would have a better test for the difference in sound of the two ..... although demos with a band are never as good as the sound from an implanted abutment.
When I discussed with my doctor about the differences between the two, he said Oticon has been in the business of making hearing aids for decades so they have the advantage of vast experience in making good processors (the device that actually picks up the sounds and transfers them to the abutment). Cochlear pioneered the cochlear implant, which is quite different because it transfers sound directly into a working cochlea (which those of us who have had translab surgeries no longer have). So both companies have different advantages in experience.
I chose the Oticon Medical Ponto Pro and for me it is superb. I love it! I snap on the processor first thing after my shower in the morning and never think about it again until I take it off to go to bed.
Just my thoughts .....
Clarice
neetze1:
Thank you Clarice for your response. I also had translab. I did test the Ponto on a band but did not test the BAHA. It is hard to tell from just wearing it on a band. Do you think the type of surgery we had makes one better than the other for those of us that had translab vs retrosigmoid? This is confusing. I thank you for your input.
Anita
CHD63:
Hi Anita .....
The way I understand it, the two devices (Oticon Medical or Cochlear) work on the same bone-conducted principle of transferring incoming sounds from the location of the processor to whatever auditory nerve is still working and capable of picking them up. As far as I know, the SoundBite (made by Sonitus) works on that same principle, as well. It conducts the sounds via the appliance on one's teeth (from the behind the ear receiver), which conduct to the bone.
Your doctor should be able to tell you the status of your auditory nerve(s), as to whether a bone-conducted hearing device is appropriate in your situation. If an AN patient's auditory nerve is not working on the AN side, I do not think it matters which surgical approach was used. Translab is the only one that automatically and permanently causes SSD, because the cochlea is removed during surgery.
For what it is worth, I retained 20% of usable hearing following my first (retrosigmoid) surgery, but lost the remainder with the translab. I used a traditional air-conducted hearing aid for the time between the two, although at the time of my pre-second surgery audiogram, I was already losing some speech discrimination.
The choice between Oticon Medical's Ponto and Cochlear's BAHA is basically a personal decision based on your assessment of the sound quality, appearance of the devices, additional "bells and whistles" options, reputation for servicing, patient satisfaction, etc.
Best wishes. Clarice
jaylogs:
Just a point of clarification...BAHA a type of hearing aid, Bone Anchored Hearing Aid. Ponto is the name of a BAHA device manufactured by Oticon, and Cochlear is another manufacturer (The very first ones to do so for BAHA!). I know there are so many terms being thrown around, just what we wanted right? To increase our medical vocabulary? LOL :)
Jay
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