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I am not deaf by any means but I’m just curious. Let’s say I was to listen to loud music every day and I started to lose my hearing. Would it be possible to regain some or most of it back without the aid of a hearing aid?

Prevent Blindness Mid-Atlantic, in partnership with the Richmond Eye and Ear Foundation and Stony Point Surgery Center, is pleased to roll out their mobile eye and ear screening unit, appropriately called WHEELS (Where Healthy Eyes and Ears Lead to Success)…

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It has been over a month that my 6 month old baby has had an ear infection. The doctor gave her antibotics for 5 days which did not work. She was then given Moxifloxacin and it did not help. My baby picks, and pulls at her ears and does not sleep like she used to before the infection. How long does it take for an ear infection to cause permanent hearing loss? Thank you for anyone that can help. I am worried about her losing her hearing.

Bone anchored hearing aids are hearing aids that carry sound through the bone of the skull. Conventional hearing aids amplify sound so the user can hear better. With this type of hearing aid, sound is vibrated through the skull, skipping the outer and middle ear. Just imagine hearing your voice loudly even when wearing earplugs – this is how bone conduction works. These types of hearing aids are prescribed to people with unilateral hearing loss, conductive hearing loss and other hearing losses that cannot be fixed with conventional hearing aids.

Getting Bone Anchored Hearing Aids

Getting this type of hearing aid starts with a surgical procedure that imbeds a titanium implant with an external abutment onto the skull. A sound processor is located in the abutment. This processor works as the transmitter of sound, from external sources, to the abutment and then into the titanium implant. The implant then causes the inner ear and the skull to vibrate. This vibration activates the nerves of the inner ear, and causes it to hear.

The process of imbedding the titanium implant is called osseointegration. Bone anchored hearing aids can only be used two to six months after the osseointegration procedure. This is typically an easy one-stage procedure, using only a small amount of anesthesia. Patients can leave after a few hours of rest. The intake of pain relievers may be required for a couple of days.

Osseointegration is a generally safe procedure, with a success rate of above 95%. Failure can be caused by infection – but then, doctors can try the procedure again after curing infections and other side effects. In many of these procedures, the surgeon will put in a second idle receptacle. This idle receptacle will not be used until first one is damaged or fails.

Unlike adults, babies and toddlers go through two stages for the osseointegration procedure. In the first surgical stage, doctors peel back a one centimeter by one centimeter section behind the child’s ears, and then drill holes for the receptors. After six to eight months, the second surgery is done to attach the titanium implant.

For both children and adults, the wounds are allowed to heal for a couple of months before bone anchored hearing aids can be attached and used.

Who Can Get Bone Anchored Hearing Aids

In general, bone anchored hearing aids are for patients who cannot use the conventional hearing aids. They may have inflammation or infection in their ear canal. They may also suffer from malformed ear canals or outer ears. This type of hearing aid is also prescribed for people with deafness only in one ear. Likewise, this type of hearing aid is for people who suffer from bilateral conductive hearing loss because of ossicular diseases.

Risks in Getting Bone Anchored Hearing Aids

Since surgery is involved in getting this type of hearing aid, the patient risks contracting infection while the wound is still unhealed. The wound needs to be cleaned daily. A topical antibiotic should be applied in the affected area as the wound heals. Likewise, care should be taken with the titanium imbed. This should be cleaned daily with a soft brush. Its surrounding areas should also me disinfected regularly.

Care should be taken in handling the hearing aids. Even when these are designed to come off their posts, a slight impact may damage them. Cochlear Limited is the only manufacturer of this type of hearing aid for now. They offer warranty and repair within a period of time.

How Much Will It Cost

In terms of the hearing aid unit alone, cost can reach up to US$5,000. however, with the additional cost of hospitalization and surgery, expenses can add up to $35,000, on the average.

Hearing Aid Models

Since Cochlear Limited is the only current provider of this type of hearing aid, there are limited models to choose from:

1. BAHA Classic and BAHA Compact – These models have been discontinued because of developments in BAHA technology. They remain in use but with limited repair options.

2. BAHA Cordelle – This model is for those with severe hearing loss. Sound is amplified more. The Cordelle model is made up of a transducer and an additional attached unit that is worn around the body.

3. BAHA Divino – This model is digital BAHA model with built-in directional microphone.

4. BAHA Intenso – This model is supposedly the more powerful and clearer model. Feedback issues have also been reduced.

Bone anchored hearing aids are clearly the choice hearing aid for those suffering from severe hearing loss, and outer ear and ear canal defects and diseases. Advancements have made the surgical procedures that go with this type of hearing aid relatively safe.

I was hoping that a transmiting hearing aid in a deaf ear could send sound from that side to a receiving hearing aid in the persons hearing ear on the other side. Is this possible?

The NIH has granted a University of Texas at Dallas researcher and a university-affiliated biomedical firm $1.7 million to investigate whether nerve stimulation offers a long-term cure for tinnitus. Described as a ringing in the ears, tinnitus affects 20 percent to 40 percent of recently returned military veterans and about 10 percent of all people over 65 years old. The U.S…

View full post on Hearing / Deafness News From Medical News Today

I am 32 years old and have been told last week that I have hearing loss in both ears and that the one is much worse. There is a good chance I wont get any improvement on this in fact its probably going to only get worse. How do I deal with loosing my hearing at such an early age? Its driving me nuts already to keep making people repeat themselves. Im depressed and hurt and just dont know how to deal with the thought I might loose my hearing alltogether.

I have to stay away from magnets and high speed hand tools because they could change my pacemaker setting. I don’t hear clearly and need to know whether a hearing aid would be safe for me to wear.

The 2010 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF), the largest meeting of ear, nose, and throat doctors in the world, will convene September 26-29, in Boston, MA. The official abstract supplement for the annual meeting is now available here with the regular August 2010 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery…

View full post on Hearing / Deafness News From Medical News Today

I listen with my earphone a lot, but it’s not loud, only about 1/4 the entire volume, I’m afraid I’ll have permanent hearing loss, is that loud enough to cause me hearing loss?