Aa
I love Baha!!
If there are any Baha candidates out there (single-sided deafness or ear malformations, etc.), I definitely recommend it! I just got mine (an Intenso) and am a very happy camper. After nine years of having to continually turn my head and ask people to repeat, I can hear people talking on my deaf side again with no problem! Bionic hearing--I love it!!!
Nancy T.
Nancy T.
Well there are happy customers writeing about the TransEar already. I will be the first to say it is Ugly, and if technology was used by the other larger HA companies, the size of the product could be reduced 7 fold. But the problem is:
Patents & demand
The truth of the matter is, the demand for such a product is low, which would make any company steer clear from possible patent issues if they were to try to copy the product.
It is shame too, because it is a good idea.
Last time I looked, they would not export their product, which is a shame because 3rd world nations really could use a product like this. No, surgery, less risk, easy to use etc etc. & folks in 3rd world nations suffer more from permanent conductive hearing losses than those in America. (poor education, no money to see physicians)
AuD CCC-A
Patents & demand
The truth of the matter is, the demand for such a product is low, which would make any company steer clear from possible patent issues if they were to try to copy the product.
It is shame too, because it is a good idea.
Last time I looked, they would not export their product, which is a shame because 3rd world nations really could use a product like this. No, surgery, less risk, easy to use etc etc. & folks in 3rd world nations suffer more from permanent conductive hearing losses than those in America. (poor education, no money to see physicians)
AuD CCC-A
Hi W/a/J--I agree, there's a big difference in the marketing, as Baha is much older and they had money to market it for SSD when the FDA approved that. I found out about Baha in 2005 on an ENT's Web site (I had not seen an ENT since 2000, so it wasn't like anyone neglected to discuss options with me at that point--I had been told about CROS but everyone said I probably wouldn't like it because it would require plugging my perfect-hearing other ear).
You do get to try the Baha headband, but in some cases (as mine) they don't let you take it home and try it in the workplace, which I would have liked, so indeed I was a bit apprehensive--after I'd gone through all that, would it work well in my workplace environment? I had reason to think it would (due to the acoustic situation there), and indeed it does.
I had been reading an acoustic neuroma forum regarding SSD solutions and it seems that very, very few people's audiologists had even heard of the TransEar. (Again, this was at least a year ago.) It does seem like a good option, although some people (among the few who had tried it) did not like it. Of course not everyone likes the Baha either, but it seems that most people do. It's nice to have options, especially for those who don't want or can't have surgery.
You do get to try the Baha headband, but in some cases (as mine) they don't let you take it home and try it in the workplace, which I would have liked, so indeed I was a bit apprehensive--after I'd gone through all that, would it work well in my workplace environment? I had reason to think it would (due to the acoustic situation there), and indeed it does.
I had been reading an acoustic neuroma forum regarding SSD solutions and it seems that very, very few people's audiologists had even heard of the TransEar. (Again, this was at least a year ago.) It does seem like a good option, although some people (among the few who had tried it) did not like it. Of course not everyone likes the Baha either, but it seems that most people do. It's nice to have options, especially for those who don't want or can't have surgery.
Yes it is new... kinda, but it was invented by a small obscure privately owned hearing aid company without the tremendous amount of marketing funds that the BAHA has. But that does not make it a bad product.
Secondly, a "Transear" candidate can try it, before they buy it. The BAHA... not really.... you will get an "idea" how it works before the put you under the knife, but that is about it.
The fact that none of you audiologist ever mentioned the Transear, really does not speak well of your audiologists. It is in their best ineterst, and they are ethically bound to stay current.
Secondly, a "Transear" candidate can try it, before they buy it. The BAHA... not really.... you will get an "idea" how it works before the put you under the knife, but that is about it.
The fact that none of you audiologist ever mentioned the Transear, really does not speak well of your audiologists. It is in their best ineterst, and they are ethically bound to stay current.
I don't know of any studies (although I haven't looked for any); isn't the Transear quite new? At least it was fairly new when I was reading about it and Baha, maybe a year ago.
I think the advantage postulated for the Baha, from a hearing standpoint, is that the vibrating part has more direct contact with the skull bone (via the abutment and implant), without any intervening skin.
Of all the audiologists I've seen, none ever suggested that I try any kind of hearing aid.
Anyway, it's too late now! Got the Baha and am very happy with it.
I think the advantage postulated for the Baha, from a hearing standpoint, is that the vibrating part has more direct contact with the skull bone (via the abutment and implant), without any intervening skin.
Of all the audiologists I've seen, none ever suggested that I try any kind of hearing aid.
Anyway, it's too late now! Got the Baha and am very happy with it.
Show me one back to back study regarding the efficacy of the BAHA v/s Transear.
They both rely on the same laws of anatomy/physiology & physics... so I really doubt there would be much of a difference.
Low freq. hearing has little value when it comes to speech discrimination and often times due to the properties of upward spread of masking, low frequencies are a retardant to speech discrimination in noise.
Of course your ENT would not know that...
They both rely on the same laws of anatomy/physiology & physics... so I really doubt there would be much of a difference.
Low freq. hearing has little value when it comes to speech discrimination and often times due to the properties of upward spread of masking, low frequencies are a retardant to speech discrimination in noise.
Of course your ENT would not know that...
I remember looking into the Transear, but the consensus seemed to be that if you CAN have a Baha (i.e., if you are not averse to surgery and don't have other reasons for avoiding it), the Baha provides better hearing and is considered a better solution.
I have to say that the Baha is VERY good. I can hear speech so clearly and easily from my left--not to mention behind me--it's like having ears in the back of my head! There are a few situations where it does not particularly help (loud background noise such as the opera, or 25 people talking at once in my living room at Thanksgiving, while dishes rattle in the kitchen!), but at work it is a GODSEND and has exceeded my expectations.
Another reason I decided against trying the Transear (not that any audiologist or ENT recommended it for me) is that I do have normal hearing up to 500 Hz in my bad ear. Thus, I would not want to plug even that ear. And the Baha is so trouble-free (for me, anyway)--snap on, snap off, no fit issues, you don't even know you're wearing it.
Nancy T.
I have to say that the Baha is VERY good. I can hear speech so clearly and easily from my left--not to mention behind me--it's like having ears in the back of my head! There are a few situations where it does not particularly help (loud background noise such as the opera, or 25 people talking at once in my living room at Thanksgiving, while dishes rattle in the kitchen!), but at work it is a GODSEND and has exceeded my expectations.
Another reason I decided against trying the Transear (not that any audiologist or ENT recommended it for me) is that I do have normal hearing up to 500 Hz in my bad ear. Thus, I would not want to plug even that ear. And the Baha is so trouble-free (for me, anyway)--snap on, snap off, no fit issues, you don't even know you're wearing it.
Nancy T.
I'd try the "transear" any day before I would go through such drastic measures as a BAHA
http://www.transear.com/
http://www.transear.com/
Kind of a joke--like the bionic man (a fictional American TV show).
The dictionary defines "bionic" as "having normal biological capability or performance enhanced by or as if by electronic or electromechanical devices."
But actually, my bad ear does not have "normal" capability--it's deaf, but the Baha device (bone-anchored hearing aid) makes up for it!
Nancy T.
The dictionary defines "bionic" as "having normal biological capability or performance enhanced by or as if by electronic or electromechanical devices."
But actually, my bad ear does not have "normal" capability--it's deaf, but the Baha device (bone-anchored hearing aid) makes up for it!
Nancy T.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Hearing Loss Community
Think a loved one may be experiencing hearing loss? Here are five warning signs to watch for.
Discover the common causes of and treatments for a sore throat.
Learn about what actually causes your temperature to spike.
Find out which foods you should watch out for.
Family medicine doctor Enoch Choi, MD helps differentiate between the common cold and more threatening (bacterial) infections
Dr. Steven Park reveals 5 reasons why breathing through your nose could change your life
