Does Anyone Here Actually Know Anything About Audiology?

[T_Dub]

Ok, so I thought that title might draw some attention to this thread. It's definitely not gonna be the usual one you see here.

I recently met a young woman I went on a date with. Had a pretty good time and all that and had no idea that she had any disability of any kind. At the end of our first date she said that she had SSD (Single Sided Deafness). Not having ever dated someone with a disability of any kind this was a bit of a shock, especially considering I hadn't even noticed that she had a problem at all.

I discussed it with her briefly, but tried to make it a non-issue. And it might as well be as far as I'm concerned at this point. I got to reading a little bit about it after going out with her for a while longer, and read about how difficult it can be for someone with SSD. I'm referring to lower quality of life and enjoyment of her environment and so forth. She's an avid outdoors person, boxer, and photographer so it seemed to me that having this fixed would increase her enjoyment of these activities a great deal.

So, I figured some people here would have input on the procedures available for this. What kind of risk is involved? Success rates? What kind of transition would she have to undergo considering she has had this since birth? Are these procedures usually covered under most medical plans? Are there just implant fixes or are their biological fixes as well? She told me her ear structure is fine it's simply nonfunctional, so I assume that is neurological or just unexplainable? She didn't go into much detail though. How much are we typically talking for an out of pocket cost? I know some of these may be hard to answer without an exact diagnosis.

The catch here is that her family is not very well off. I on the other hand landed a very good job with excellent medical benefits at a very young age and quite frankly I've been humbled by how kind she has been to myself and my son. Whereas, I've not been quite so humble throughout my life, when I've had so much more than her.

I have not discussed this with her at all yet, but will once I get some info. She may not even want it and that's fine, but I can't really think of anything better to spend my money on this holiday season than something like this or on a better person. And if it is covered under medical, well that's great and opens a whole new ballgame. I'm level headed, but marriage would be something I'd consider even though less than a year of dating is a rush to me but....

I know some will think this, especially the marriage portion, is probably crazy and some will think it's great, loving, and sweet. I'm just here for some advice though. Hopefully some of you can help =)

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[dg2b]

Hi, I'm a 3rd year AuD student, and recently gave a Grand Rounds presentation on my experiences with single sided deafness patients and what has/has not worked for them.

Research has shown that people with one normal hearing ear tend to be able to communicate easily in quiet/ideal listening environments, but tend to struggle more when there is background noise, and also have difficulty localizing sounds. Currently, there are 3 viable options for SSD, but are met with varying degrees of success among patients:

1. CROS hearing aid system: She would wear a hearing aid with a microphone on her "dead ear" which would transmit the sound to a hearing aid receiver on her good ear. Pros: Is non-invasive, and the hearing aids can be very small and discrete. Cons: Are not covered by insurance, and can run $6k+. Many patients do not like the sound quality either.

2. BAHA/bone anchored device: These require a surgery to install a metal post into the skull behind the dead ear. a small box snaps onto the post, which transmits the sound that comes from the dead ear through bone conduction to the good ear. Pros: The device and procedure is covered by most insurances because it is considered a prosthetic, unlike hearing aids. Cons: Requires a surgery, and the device is pretty bulky and conspicuous, and some patients do not like the sound quality.

3. Soundbite: This is a new option, which involves a hearing aid microphone on the dead ear and a receiver in the form of a mouthpiece on the side of the better hearing ear. Pros: Is also covered by most insurances as a prosthetic device. My patient who uses Soundbite has had a positive experience so far (she was fit in October). Cons: Requires hearing in the better ear to be completely normal (<25 dB), and the mouthpiece takes some getting used to (it is custom made by a dentist and fits similar to a retainer).

You can find more information about each of these three options by googling them, but your girlfriend would have to go see an audiologist and an ENT to determine which of these options she would be a candidate for. Hope this helped!

 

[T_Dub]

Thank you very much! That was helpful and well explained. I will definitely look up some stuff on google about these is she is receptive to the idea. I'd rather she have the major decision on which variety she would prefer if she is a candidate for them. I did come here so that I could actually talk to people with experience. So, that's why I didn't simply google information

That said, the only question I can see from what you posted is about the patients who do not like the sound quality. What is it they seem to have trouble with? Is it the accuracy of the sound compared to what the other ear is hearing or a delay of some kind? You say many of them do not like option 1 and some do not like option 2. Can you put a percentage on those to help gauge the success rates?

And possibly a recommendation for a good audiologist or group in the Pittsburgh/Morgantown area? That would be awesome if someone could chime in on that.

 

[TheEarDoc]

Thank you very much! That was helpful and well explained. I will definitely look up some stuff on google about these is she is receptive to the idea. I'd rather she have the major decision on which variety she would prefer if she is a candidate for them. I did come here so that I could actually talk to people with experience. So, that's why I didn't simply google information

That said, the only question I can see from what you posted is about the patients who do not like the sound quality. What is it they seem to have trouble with? Is it the accuracy of the sound compared to what the other ear is hearing or a delay of some kind? You say many of them do not like option 1 and some do not like option 2. Can you put a percentage on those to help gauge the success rates?

And possibly a recommendation for a good audiologist or group in the Pittsburgh/Morgantown area? That would be awesome if someone could chime in on that.

Almost all reputable audiologists (and many state laws require this) offer a 30-60 day trial period where you can try the CROS transmitter and hearing aid to see if she likes it and if she doesn't you return the device in working order in the time frame and get the majority of your money back less usually 200-500 (covers the Audiologist's time for the fitting and any follow-ups).

The BAHA route is pretty good. The surgery is now often done on an outpatient basis. The Oticon Ponto is smaller than the other BAHA device made by Cochlear and a lot of patients I've seen have loved the OTicon Ponto. This device works very well for single sided deafness and if she has longer hair then if she doesn't want to the processor to be seen then her hair would cover it.

The other route is every year cochlear implant fitting guidelines get pushed further and further down meaning people with better hearing are getting cochlear implants more often. I would say within the next 10 years that many insurance companies will cover a cochlear implant for single sided deafness.

I've not had any experience with the soundbite system yet. The rep was in our area a couple months back and I sat in on a presentation for it. It seemed pretty cool.

My main piece of advice would be don't try and change the person you are with. Love her for her accomplishments and her flaws. I saw you planned on bringing it up and if she doesn't want to seek treatment you'll drop it. That's the attitude to have. No one with a disability likes to feel like someone wants to "fix" them. It can make them feel very inadequate and causes all kinds of relationship problems. From the sounds of it she seems like an amazing girl. So I would simply bring it up as hey not sure if you knew all these options existed but they do and if you're interested in looking into them for you then I'm here to support you. I love you the way you are and think you're amazing.

IF she isn't interested then drop it and do not bring it up again.

Good luck!