Bone Anchored Hearing Aids

Bone-anchored hearing aids allow the deaf and hard-of-hearing to improve auditory acuity. This type of hearing device is best suited for people with unilateral hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, or a combination of hearing losses. It is usually referred to people with less severe hearing loss and those who cannot wear traditional hearing aids. Bone anchored implants have had many positive hearing aid reviews among the hard-of-hearing and deaf communities. Learn more about the bone-anchored hearing aid and how it is benefiting people everywhere.

Function

Bone anchored hearing aids are implanted behind the ear and into the skull instead of implanted in the ear. It works by transmitting sound vibrations to the cochlea by transferring vibrations via bone conduction to the inner ear. A sound processor transmits sound vibrations to the implanted titanium and the implant then vibrates the inner ear and skull, stimulating the nerve fibers and allowing hearing. The bone anchored hearing aid has three main parts that function as follows:

  • The external sound processor initially takes in sounds
  • The implanted titanium device is surgically implanted into the skull behind the ear
  • The abutment – a button-type holder – is screwed into the titanium device

Surgery to get a bone anchored hearing aid implant is fairly simple. The surgeon first fuses the titanium screw with the bone in a procedure known as osseointegration. The sound processor part of the device cannot be worn immediately. The titanium screw must first be fused with the bone and healed before the sound processor can be connected by the abutment. It may be ideal to read hearing aid reviews on the surgery to understand the process from deaf or hard-of-hearing people who have undergone the surgery.

Benefits

Advantages of using a bone anchored hearing aid has been well-documented and the positive reactions from those who have used the device can be seen in many hearing aid reviews. There are a wide range of hearing aid systems to choose from, such as Siemens hearing aids which have an innovative design and unparalleled quality. Siemens hearing aids and others can help increase hearing in noisy environments and improve speech and understanding. Bone anchored hearing aids also produce a natural sound with less feedback and distortion compared to traditional hearing aids.

Considerations

There are several major manufacturers of bone anchored hearing aids, such as the official BAHA brand and Siemens hearing aids. Different types of hearing aids consist of different components and require regular maintenance. Many brands require hearing aid batteries to work. The sound processors of many manufacturers run on small circular hearing aid batteries which last an average of 6 to 14 days. Hearing aid batteries must be replaced at these times for the device to properly work.

Conductive hearing loss is associated with damage, malformation, or some other type of problem within the middle ear that keeps sound waves from being transferred to the receptor cells within the inner ear. There are many effective and safe devices available to help restore or improve hearing. One of the most popular currently on the market is the bone anchored hearing aid. Some people may benefit from the use of an implantable device such as this and find it can improve their quality of life.