BC alternatives to BAHA

[snoo-pie]

Hi all,

I have just seen a lady who has a multitude of problems, one of which being a conductive hearing loss and bilateral chronic infections. Although to look at her she is a healthy 70 y/old she is unsuitable for a BAHA as she has a condition that prevents her from healing properly.

She currently uses a BW83 with a bone conduction hard head band that she has had since 2007 but has never particularly sucessful as she finds it very uncomfortable. She also requires glasses and wears a wig as her condition has caused her to lose her hair.

She spoke to SpecSavers recently with regards to a pair of BC glasses and was told that they do not provide these.

My Principal has asked me to investigate alternatives but after an hour of trawling through journals and google I have come up quite short of any useful information.

I realise that a soft headband may be a possible option but due to her wig this may not work so well.
I believe some trusts do provide BC glasses aids but I cannot find a lot of information from "reputable" sources regarding this and even looking at many hearing aid manufactuers websites I cannot find anything.

Have any of you come across similar situations or know of any thing that may be of help?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

[PRH]

I've always thought that these spectacle aids look fairly stylish - but i've no idea what they cost

http://spectaclehearingsystems.co.uk/

what are her AC and BC levels - would she be suitable for a middle ear implant eg vibrant soundbridge produced by Med-EL??

[snoo-pie]

The audio we have (from 2007) is very basic.

250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000
BC Lt 10 20 45 35
AC Lt 45 45 50 60 80 105
AC Rt 50 40 50 60 80 105

I've booked her in for a Reassessment and it would be nice to have some news about other options for her before we see her again.

Unfortunately she is unsuitable for any surgery due to her condition.

I did have a look at that website following my initial google search but the website doesn't exactly inspire confidence in me, it's all a bit basic! Still, might be worth getting the boss to have a look and see what she thinks of it.

[DaveO]

Hi

You could try different BW models to see if the head bands they come with are any more comfortable, for example:

GN Resound Clip is a digital BW hearing aid with a BC option (part of their Danalogic range). This might have some benefits in terms of directionality and noise reduction

http://danalogic-ifit.com/pdfs/iFitMeetTheFamily.pdf

The only other one I'm familiar with is Oticon P11P - an analogue BW aid, also comes with a BC option.

Or try a regular BTE aid with short meatal length earmould to avoid irritating the ear, and keep the BC aid as a backup for times when the infections flare up?

I've never fitted a spectacle BC aid - would be interested to hear if you had any success?

Good luck
Dave

[PRH]

starkey are now selling a range of spectacle aids, but I'm not sure what they cost, or if they're on contract - try contacting one of their reps!

thanks
penny

Hi

You could try different BW models to see if the head bands they come with are any more comfortable, for example:

GN Resound Clip is a digital BW hearing aid with a BC option (part of their Danalogic range). This might have some benefits in terms of directionality and noise reduction

http://danalogic-ifit.com/pdfs/iFitMeetTheFamily.pdf

The only other one I'm familiar with is Oticon P11P - an analogue BW aid, also comes with a BC option.

Or try a regular BTE aid with short meatal length earmould to avoid irritating the ear, and keep the BC aid as a backup for times when the infections flare up?

I've never fitted a spectacle BC aid - would be interested to hear if you had any success?

Good luck
Dave

[sue]

starkey are now selling a range of spectacle aids, but I'm not sure what they cost, or if they're on contract - try contacting one of their reps!

thanks
penny

The spectacle aids are now on NHS contract from Starkey so are available through NHS supplies. They are the Bruckoff aids. The benefit of these is that the arm where the BC unit is attached can be bent to aid positioning of the product on the mastoid. Subject to tension in the glasses arms they can also be fitted on any glasses.
Contact Starkey on 0500 262 131 to arrange for a regional rep to visit about them. Check your NHS supplies price list for costs

[AcousticS]

This is a special case.

Has someone, experience with a "SoundBite"-Supply, collected?

SoundBite hearing system is intended to deliver sound across a broad frequency range of 250 to more than 12,000 Hz.

Source:
http://www.sonitusmedical.com/produc...-in-detail.cfm

Manufacturer: Sonitus Medical