Treatment with Baha
Baha System – Daily Life
Dan, age 51
History
Sided Deafness since 1971 due to an inner ear infection (virus). The deafness was sudden and profound.
I used CROS hearing aids for 17+ years before I switched to the Baha in 2005. I compared digital CROS over the ear aids with the Baha and determined that the Baha was a better more natural sounding solution for me. To this day I do not regret making the Baha decision.
In the Morning
In the morning I do the typical shower and shave regimen and get ready for my day whether it be work or the weekend. I snap on the Baha in place, turn it on, and forget it. The Baha part of my morning takes less than 30 seconds. Once it is in place and on, it just works. The Baha takes me from being single sided deaf (SSD) to being able to hear bilaterally and very naturally
At Work
I would hear absolutely nothing without my cochlear implant, so I wear my speech processor all day. It allows me to use the phone, talk with co-workers, and hear in meetings. At work I typically park about 300 yards from the door and walk along the sidewalk to get to my building. When it is windy, I hear the wind through the Baha. When this occurs, I just turn it down until I'm inside. Once I'm inside, I return the volume to the 1.5 to 2 setting and never have to think about it again. I have a private office and manage 48 people who cycling in and out of the office all day.
I use the phone in my non-deaf ear. I think the Baha helps me most in meetings as well as one-on-one conversations with my staff on the open floor. The office has typical office type noises and conversations. Everything seems very natural to me. The Baha allows me to position myself anywhere in a room or meeting since it allows me to hear on my deaf side. Without the Baha, I must sit with my good ear facing the people or I'd never hear or understand them. I rarely make any adjustments to the Baha during the day.
In Public
The baha works for me in public places in the same way it works for me at work or home. I don't event think about it. I must say I do not wear it to football games where it it extremely noisy or anywhere I would be taking place in physical activities.
I do this as I'm not interested in making crowd noises louder and I want to avoid having it knocked off, such as playing racquetball. Again, I don't make adjustments to the Baha during these situations as the standard settings work well for me. I have very short hair and the Baha is plainly visible. I never give it a second thought. Strangers have asked me about the "thing on my head" and I take the time to explain how the sound processor works.
For music listening at home, I use patch cables or headphones
At Bedtime
I remove the Baha and turn it off at the end of the day, before I go to bed. I always put it back into its form fitting case to protect it and to make it easier to find the next day. I always place it in the same location each night. Taking it off is as simple as tilting it away from the head and it un-snaps. Nothing else to do. Once a week or so, I remove the battery and place the entire unit into a dry-kit to remove any moisture in the device.
Maintenance
I've had my Baha since 2005 and have never required any formal maintenance on the unit. I do replace the single #675 battery about every 10 days and use a dry-aid kit. Other than batteries, the unit itself has proven to be maintenance free. The abutment in my head requires very little attention. I brush the abutment area gently with a soft bristled brush (think toothbrush) while in the shower. Other than that, I wash my hair just like normal. The hair stylist cuts my hair in the same way as usual. If my hair were longer it would cover the Baha completely and no one would even know I was wearing one.
Repairs and Replacement
I take good care of the sound processor and have never needed any repair.
