The Baha® System

For some people with hearing loss, traditional air-conduction hearing aids are not beneficial. People with hearing loss caused by damage to the outer or middle ear, known as conductive or mixed hearing loss, may need more than acoustic sound amplification to treat their condition. Traditionally, people with conductive and mixed hearing losses who don't benefit from air-conduction hearing aids have been offered a bone-conduction hearing aid. These are either held on the head using a steel spring headband, or included in the frame of a pair of glasses. Bone-conduction hearing aids have several disadvantages: the sound quality is poor because the skin acts as a barrier for the sound to travel to the inner ear; they can be uncomfortable, causing pain and headaches due to the constant pressure of the headband and they can be visually obtrusive or difficult to secure firmly to the head. An alternative solution to a conventional bone-conduction hearing aid is the implantable Baha® System.

1. A sound processor picks up sound vibrations.

2. An abutment is attached to the sound processor and the implant. The abutment trasfers the sound vibrations from the processor to the implant.

3. A small titanium implant is placed in the bone behind the ear where it fuses with the living bone. This process is called osseointegration. The implant transfers the sound vibrations to the functioning cochlea.