Finding out that your child needs a hearing aid can be a shock for many parents. Even if you’ve been expecting it, you’re likely to have lots of questions about the type of device your child needs and what it will mean for you both in the future.
If you’ve been wondering, ‘Should my child get a bone anchored hearing aid?’ we hope this blog will help explain what a BAHA is, why it might have been recommended, and how it could help your child.
What Is a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA)?
Bone-anchored hearing aid is typically abbreviated to BAHA. You may also see it called:
- Bone conduction hearing device (BCHD)
- Bone conduction hearing aid (BCHA)
- Bone conduction hearing implant (BCHI) (Usually referring to a surgically implanted BAHA).
These different terms and abbreviations are often used interchangeably, which can make it confusing for those not familiar with hearing loss terminology.
This type of hearing aid uses bone conduction to transmit sound. It picks up vibrations from the wearer’s environment and transmits them via the large bones of the skull to the inner ear, where they can be converted into sound.
Who Is a BAHA Suitable For?
As bone conduction hearing aids bypass the outer ear and ear canal, they’re particularly suitable for children who can’t wear conventional hearing aids. They can be used by children who have permanent or long-standing deafness, as well as children experiencing temporary hearing loss.
A BAHA can help children with both sensorineural hearing loss and conductive hearing loss or mixed hearing loss, as well as single-sided deafness.
Bone conduction hearing devices are also used by children with Atresia and Microtia, as well as those with congenital syndromes, such as Down’s Syndrome, Treacher Collins and Goldenhar Syndrome.
A bone conduction hearing aid may also be considered as a more short-term solution for children with glue ear or a perforated eardrum. They can also be a good option for children with persistent ear infections that are affecting your child’s ability to hear and make wearing a conventional hearing aid impossible due to ongoing discharge. For these children, wearing a BAHA instead can help keep the ear canal clean, dry and healthy.
How Can a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid Help My Child?
Bone-anchored hearing aids can improve the quality of your child’s hearing, making it easier for them to interpret speech and sound from an early age. This is important for language acquisition, helping them to form relationships and to learn and socialise at nursery or school.
BAHAs can be worn at any age, making them suitable for young babies, as well as toddlers, preschoolers, school-age children and teenagers. Many adults wear bone anchored hearing aids too!
Will My Child Need Surgery to Get a BAHA?
When it comes to wearing a bone conduction hearing aid, there are multiple possibilities, and which one is right for your child will depend on several factors. Your child’s audiology team will be able to talk through the different options available and which one they’d recommend for your child.
A bone conduction implant is a permanent solution that will require one or two surgical procedures. Alternatively, children can wear a non-surgical BAHA or BCHA on a temporary or permanent basis.
Surgical BAHAs
Getting a BAHA implant involves having surgery, during which a small metal implant is placed inside the mastoid bone of the skull.
There are two different types of surgically-implanted BAHA:
An abutment BAHA is where the implant comes through the skin of the scalp. The sound processor is then attached to the abutment, allowing the vibrations to be captured and transmitted to the cochlea.
A BAHA attract, on the other hand, is a magnetic device that sits completely under the skin and connects to the sound processor using a strong magnet.
Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages, and the Hearing Implant Service will be able to discuss these with you so you can choose the right option for your child.
Non-Surgical BAHAs
A bone conduction hearing aid is a non-surgical option. Rather than having a surgically-implanted hearing device, your child can wear a BAHA processor on an external BAHA headband, softband or specially-adjusted hat.
This is ideal for children whose hearing is expected to improve with time, and also allows your child to trial a bone conduction hearing aid without undergoing surgery so you can be confident that it’s right for them.
BAHA headbands are also worn permanently by children who aren’t able or don’t want to undergo the surgery to have a BAHA implant fitted.
Get In Touch
If you’ve been wondering whether or not your child should get a bone anchored hearing aid, we hope this blog has helped.
You’ll find lots of other useful information on our BAHA Accessories blog, including tips for helping your child adjust to their BAHA and information about the different types of hearing aids and implants available.
Here at BAHA Accessories, we’re always happy to help so if you have any questions about BAHA headbands or accessories, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We can also advise you on any of our various product designs and their functions to make sure they’re right for your child. You can send us a message online, call us on 07432 620644 or drop us an email at sales@bahaaccessoriesuk.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!