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July 22, 2008
Hearing birds chirp is music to my ears
Single-sided deafness is a type of hearing loss where there is no functional hearing ability in one ear. This condition can cause many problems such as headaches, irritability, tinnitus, difficulty distinguishing where sounds are coming from (resulting in possible safety issues) and decreased attention during conversation.
All of this can lead to social isolation and even depression. If you are feeling this way, there is a new technology, the Baha implant, that can restore your hearing. You can avoid years of grief and unnecessary surgeries.
I gradually lost my hearing when I was in my 30s. Initially, I had hearing loss in both ears. The first procedure that was used, stapedectomy, was done on both ears. The stapes bone was removed and wire was inserted to vibrate the sound. The surgery worked for years, until a car accident knocked the wire off.
Five surgeries to replace the wire were unsuccessful because the bones were deteriorating. I became deaf in the right ear. My ability to hear in my left ear remained, because surgery hadn’t been done on that side since the accident. So I went out and bought a high-powered hearing aid.
Years later, another event prompted a return to the doctor — my daughter’s wedding. I had such a hard time having a conversation with the guests, I thought it was time to see my audiologist again. He did a hearing test on my left ear and said: I have good news and bad news. The bad news is your hearing is going. The good news is we can send you to see a specialist, who can tell you if you are a candidate for an implant.
If it wasn’t for Kevin Flanagan, I would have never met Dr. Ernesto Diaz-Ordaz. I had the best hearing aid that money could buy and an audiologist who genuinely cares about his patients. Diaz-Ordaz said he could help me, and explained the Baha implant. The device is implanted behind the non-functioning ear. The system utilizes direct bone conduction, which allows the bone to transfer sound to a functioning cochlea, thereby passing the middle ear.
This unique hearing treatment is the only system of its kind approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat this condition. Insurance companies have just begun paying for this ambulatory surgical procedure in the last year or so.
He told me that after three months of healing, the implant is secure and the small bone conductor, or hearing aid, is snapped into place behind the ear. Diaz-Ordaz then tested the Baha for me so I could experience the benefit of the implant in his office. He held it against my bone and spoke into it. He then said: This is how you will hear when it is implanted.
I decided to have the surgery. Finally, after healing, the day came! The hearing aid, hidden by my hair, was snapped into place. I started to cry tears of joy. I could hear this miracle doctor so clearly in my once-deaf ear.
God and technology gave me a second chance to hear the sounds everyone takes for granted. I can sit with my family at the table and join the conversation. I can hear the birds chirp as they fly up to all those birdhouses I have been collecting over the years. The other day I was walking my dogs and, for the first time, heard the tags on their necks clanging.
I just had to get the word out. If I can help one person by writing this, it is worth all that I have been through. Please e-mail me at SMogavero@Roadrunner.com .
http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/395830.html
Posted by 4HL on July 22, 2008 12:06 AM
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