Hearing Loss Education Center

Connecting people to a world of sound
 
Hearing Loss Education Center
Hearing & Hearing Loss Screening & Testing Treatment with Hearing Aids Advanced Treatments for Hearing Loss What is a Cochlear Implant? What is Baha? Communication & Language Choosing the Right Treatment Resources
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Advanced Treatments for Hearing Loss

There are different types of treatments for hearing loss depending on the type and degree of hearing loss.

Many people with hearing loss can be helped with traditional hearing aids. When the hearing loss is more severe or profound, an advanced treatment like cochlear implants or Baha may be a more appropriate treatment.

Review the information below to find out if you may benefit from an advanced treatment for hearing loss.  If you are unsure about what treatment may be suitable for you, review this informational chart to find a solution that might benefit you.

 

Cochlear Implants

Treatment for bilateral moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness).

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Baha

Treatment for conductive or mixed hearing loss, and Single Sided Deafness (SSD).

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Cochlear Implant Check list

If you answer yes to any of these questions, you may be a good candidate for a cochlear implant.

When using hearing aids…

  • Do you have to ask people to repeat themselves in one-on-one conversations, even in a quiet room?
  • Do you depend on lip-reading to understand a conversation?
  • Do you avoid social activities because you don’t know what’s being said and are afraid you may respond incorrectly?
  • Are you exhausted at the end of the day because communication requires such a high degree of concentration?
  • Are you having a hard time keeping up at work?
  • Is it hard for you to talk on the phone and do you avoid calling or answering the phone?
  • Is listening to music no longer fun?
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    Baha Checklist

    You may be a candidate for a Baha system if you answer yes to any of these questions:

    • Do you hear only from one side?
    • Do you have malformed ears, or chronically draining ears?
    • When using hearing aids, do you have:
      • Problems getting sufficient loudness?
      • Trouble with feedback, squeal, whistles, or distorted sound quality?
      • Do you have sore or irritated ears due to wearing your earmolds?
     
     


    		 
       

    Hearing Loss

    For hearing loss, refers to less than average ability to hear and understand sounds due to one or more parts of the hearing system not working properly.

    Hearing Loss

    For hearing loss, refers to problems hearing in both ears, not just one.

    Hearing Loss

    For hearing loss, refers to problems hearing in one, but not both ears

    Mild Hearing Loss

    People with mild hearing loss have some difficulty following speech, mainly in noisy situations; quietest sounds they can hear in their better ear average between 25 and 39 decibels (a standard measure of sound)

    Moderate Hearing Loss

    People with moderate hearing loss have difficulty following speech without a hearing aid; quietest sounds they can hear in their better ear average between 40 and 69 decibels (a standard measure of sound).

    Severe Hearing Loss

    People with severe hearing loss get help from powerful hearing aids, but often rely on lip-reading even when using an aid; quietest sounds they can hear in their better ear average between 70 and 89 decibels (a standard measure of sound).

    Profound Hearing Loss

    People with profound hearing loss mostly rely on lip-reading and/or sign language; the quietest sounds heard in their better ear average from 90 decibels or louder (a standard measure of sound).

    Otosclerosis

    A disease in which bone grows abnormally in the middle ear preventing structures within the ear from working properly and causing hearing loss.

    Cochlea

    Part of the ear that contains both the organ of hearing (the cochlea) and the organ of balance (the labyrinth).

    Feedback

    A high-pitched, sometime painful, whistling sound that occurs when a microphone picks up sound from a nearby speaker and replays it again and again (commonly occurs when a poorly fitting hearing aid earmold allows sound to “leak” from the speaker back into the microphone).

    Assisstive Listening Devices

    Electronic devices or accessories for hearing aids that provide extra help in specific listening situations (telephone, noisy backgrounds, small or large group settings, etc.).

    Sensorineural Hearing Loss

    Hearing loss due to failure of the auditory nerve, also called nerve deafness.

    Mastoid Bone

    A portion of the lower skull bone that contains the inner ear.

    Rehabilitation

    For individuals who previously experienced hearing and get a cochlear implant, the comprehensive training program that “re-teaches” them how to hear and interpret sounds, to recover any lost speech skills, and to properly use the cochlear implant speech processor and controls.

    Habilitation

    For individuals who had not previously experience hearing and get a cochlear implant, the comprehensive training program that teaches them to hear and interpret sounds, to develop or improve speech skills, and to properly use the cochlear implant speech processor and controls.

    Coverage

    For health insurance, coverage involves making sure a health plan or policy pays for the cochlear implant device and related professional services (for example, physician and audiology services). Usually, you go through a preauthorization process. This means getting a guarantee from the health insurance plan that they will pay for the implant and services before getting treatment.

    Billing

    For health insurance, billing involves the process by which health care providers charge, code, and submit their bills (in the form of a claim) to the health insurance company or plan.

    Payment

    For health insurance, payment involves getting the full amount allowed for services given a health plan’s limitations, allowables, deductibles, and co-payments.

    Menieres

    A disorder of the fluid volume of the inner ear that can cause hearing loss, dizziness/vertigo, tinnitus (ringing in the ear), and/or pressure or pain in ear.

    Meningitis

    a viral or bacterial infection that causes inflammation and swelling of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord; among possible serious complications are hearing loss or deafness.

    Mumps

    a viral infection that causes swelling of the salivary glands; sometimes spreads to central nervous system which can result in hearing loss.

    Measles

    a viral infection that causes rash, fever, and cold-like symptoms; sometimes causes complications like ear or brain infections which can result in hearing loss.

    Unilateral

    on one side, but not the other; used to describe a type of hearing loss in which there is normal or somewhat impaired hearing in one ear and little or no hearing in the other ear.

    Unilateral Hearing Loss

    condition in which one ear has little or no hearing ability and the other ear has normal or close to normal hearing. Also referred to as Single Sided Deafness (SSD).

    Osseointegration

    the natural process of bone growing into the titanium fixtures creating a direct connection between an artificial implant and living bone.