The bone-anchored hearing aid (Baha) implant uses your body’s ability to conduct sound to help you hear more in the world around you. The device is implanted in the bone behind your ear and uses the bone to transmit sound to your brain, where it is interpreted.
While a typical hearing aid pushes sound through the damaged part of the ear, the Baha device uses your body’s natural ability to conduct sound using bone vibrations. In this way, sound bypasses the damaged portion of your ear and sends clearer sound straight to your inner ear. The specialists at University of Miami Health System use Baha evaluations to determine if a Baha implant is right for you.
Who is a Candidate?
If you have one of the following conditions, you may be a candidate for a Baha evaluation:
- Conductive hearing loss: problem with the outer or middle ear
- Mixed hearing loss: problem with the outer or middle ear, as well as with the inner ear
- Single-sided deafness: little or no hearing in one ear, with normal hearing on the other side
What to Expect
You will first undergo a Baha evaluation to determine if this treatment option may be right for you. If your ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist determines that the Baha implant is a good treatment option for your type and degree of hearing loss, you will undergo a surgical procedure to have the device implanted. The Baha system is comprised of three parts: a sound processor, connecting abutment (support), and an implant placed in the bone behind your ear.
Sometime after the surgical procedure, your Baha device will need to be turned on. You can expect a period of adjustment as you learn to hear with your new implanted device.
Why Choose UHealth?
Ranked in the nation’s top tier by U.S. News & World Report.
The ranking reflects the team’s dedication to excellence in research patient care and outcomes. Surgeons, audiologists, biomedical engineers, speech pathologists, researchers, and psychologists collaborate with many research programs at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine to deliver the best possible multidisciplinary care to pediatric and adult ear, nose, and throat patients.
Home to the Ear Institute at the University of Miami. The Ear Institute is a global center for all hearing loss conditions, evaluations, and treatments, thanks to the patients who put their trust in us for their continued health care. It is also a primary location for continuing medical education and research by the National Institutes of Health.
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