When it comes to bone anchored hearing aids, there are two options for BAHA softbands – bilateral or unilateral. Which one is right for you, will largely depend on the type of hearing loss you have. In this blog we’ll explain the difference between bilateral and unilateral BAHAs.
Different Types of Hearing Loss
Hearing loss occurs when any aspect of your hearing system isn’t working properly, whether that’s your outer ear, such as the part we see (the pinna) or ear canal, your middle ear, such as the eardrum, or the inner ear, such as the cochlea or auditory nerves.
Depending on which part of the system isn’t working will determine the type of hearing loss you experience. Broadly speaking, there are two main categories of hearing loss – sensorineural hearing loss and conductive hearing loss.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Typically caused by damage to the hair cells inside the inner ear, or damage to the hearing nerve, this type of hearing loss reduces sound quality and makes it difficult or impossible to hear quieter sounds. Sensorineural hearing loss is permanent but hearing aids can be used to improve your hearing,
Conductive Hearing Loss
This type of hearing loss occurs when something prevents sound from passing from your outer ear to your inner ear. It makes your hearing muffled and can be temporary or permanent. Conductive hearing loss can be caused by something simple such as a build-up of wax or by conditions such as Microtia or Atresia.
Mixed hearing loss is when a person has both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. Hearing loss can also be categorised in other ways, including the severity of the deafness – whether mild, moderate, severe or profound. Hearing loss can also be unilateral or bilateral.
Unilateral and Bilateral Hearing Loss
Hearing loss can be unilateral, meaning that the hearing is only affected in one ear, or bilateral, meaning that both ears are affected.
Unilateral deafness is also sometimes called one-sided hearing loss or single-sided deafness (SSD). This can range from mild to profound in the affected ear. It’s also possible to have bilateral hearing loss with differing levels of deafness in each ear.
Do I Need a Unilateral or Bilateral BAHA?
Bone anchored hearing aids (BAHAs) can be used to effectively treat both unilateral and bilateral hearing loss and improve hearing. Bone anchored hearing aids can be surgically implanted or worn externally on a headband or softband.
People with bilateral hearing loss are most commonly fitted with a unilateral BAHA. However, there is clinical evidence to suggest that bilateral BAHAs might be of more benefit and many BAHA experts recommend bilateral bone anchored hearing aids, particularly for children with severe congenital conductive hearing impairment.
Your (or your child’s) medical team or audiologist will be able to recommend which type of BAHA they think will be most suitable for your type of hearing loss and give the best possible results.
What’s the Difference Between a Unilateral and Bilateral Softband?
A unilateral BAHA will be worn on one side of the head, with the processor typically placed behind the affected ear over the mastoid bone (the large bone behind the ear.) A bilateral BAHA will be worn in the same way but on both sides, to improve hearing in both ears.
Therefore a unilateral BAHA headband will hold one button connector on which to fix your BAHA processor, while a bilateral BAHA softband is designed to accommodate two button connectors for two processors.
Otherwise, our unilateral and bilateral BAHA headbands share the same great features. They’re both fully-adjustable, non-slip, customisable and come with a built-in safety-line anchor as standard. Our new wide headband range is also available as both unilateral and bilateral options.
Get In Touch
We hope this blog has helped to explain the difference between bilateral and unilateral BAHA softbands. To learn more about bone anchored hearing aids and BAHA headbands, please visit the BAHA Accessories blog where you’ll find lots of useful information and hints and tips about life with a bone anchored hearing aid.
We’d also be more than happy to talk you through any of our products and how they work so you can be sure that they’re the right choice for you. Send us an email at sales@bahaaccessoriesuk.com or give us a call on 07432 620644. You can also fill out our online contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. We look forward to hearing from you!