Bone Anchored Hearing System

What is a bone anchored hearing system (BAHS)?

A BAHS is a special system for people who cannot benefit from tradition hearing aids due to single sided deafness or chronic middle ear disease. The BAHS is a surgically implanted device that when used with an external processor, allows the wearer to hear via a mechanism called bone conduction.

A bone anchored system consists of three parts:

• A small (3 or 4 mm) titanium implant that sits in the bone behind the ear
• An abutment that juts out through the skin
• A sound processor

How does a BAHS work?

Chronic middle or outer ear disordersThe sound processor picks up sound, converts them into vibrations, and sends them through your skull bone, directly to your inner ear. This bypasses any problems in your ear canal or middle ear. www.oticonmedical.com Single sided deafness As sound via bone conduction is always transmitted to both ears, a bone anchored hearing system can also benefit people with single-sided deafness. It picks up sound on the deaf side and transfers it to the good ear. www.cochlearamericas.com

Who is a candidate for a BAHS?

The bone anchored hearing system is recommended for three different types of hearing loss within specific audiological indications: Conductive hearing loss Mixed hearing loss Single-sided deafness (SSD) In the US and Canada, bone-anchored implantation is indicated for children 5 years and older.

Younger children can use the Baha sound processor on a Softband. www.oticonmedical.com