Osseointegrated Devices
Osseointegrated devices (or bone-anchored hearing aids) consist of a titanium implant, an external abutment, and a sound processor. These hearing devices can either be worn on a headband or attached to the skin with adhesive (nonsurgical devices) or surgically implanted. The nonsurgical devices are best suited for children whose skulls haven’t fully developed or for adults who have minor hearing loss or who cannot have surgery. Surgical devices include an internal component and an external processor that can be implanted either percutaneously or transcutaneously:
- Percutaneous Option – a titanium post protrudes through the skin, and the external processor attaches to the post.
- Transcutaneous Option – the internal component attaches to the external processor with magnets that work through your skin.
Your type and degree of hearing loss will dictate what kind of bone-anchored hearing aid you need.
How They Work
Osseointegrated devices are much like cochlear implants in that they bypass damaged hair cells in the auditory canal and middle ear. They transmit sound vibrations through the external abutment to the titanium implant, which naturally ossifies (integrates) with the skull bone over time. The bones of the skull act as conductors, transmitting these sound vibrations to the inner ear, where the nerve fibers responsible for hearing are stimulated.
Ideal Candidates for Osseointegrated Devices
- Cannot wear hearing aids due to chronic ear infections
- Have complications with their middle ear bones
- Have a malformation of the middle ear or the ear canal
Implantation Criteria
Osseointegrated devices are FDA-approved for
- Patients who are 5 Years Old or Older
- Patients who have mixed or conductive hearing loss that cannot be improved with the use of hearing aids or through surgery
- Patients who have single-sided deafness (profound sensorineural hearing loss in one ear and normal hearing in the opposite ear)
Bone Conduction Hearing Aid Evaluation
Your audiologist will conduct a complete audiological evaluation during your consultation to determine your type and degree of hearing loss. She will also discuss your candidacy and demonstrate the benefits of the device in the office.
Surgery
If you are a candidate for the implantable bone-anchored hearing aids, you’ll be referred to an ear, nose, and throat doctor to have the internal component of the device implanted. Surgery is performed on an outpatient basis under general anesthesia.
Recovery time depends on the type of device you had implanted. The recovery period can be anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks.
Device Activation
Once you have fully healed from surgery, you’ll return to see one of our audiologists to receive the external component and activate the device.
Consultation for Osseointegrated Devices
If you are interested in being evaluated for osseointegrated devices, call Coates Hearing at (984) 205-6863 to schedule an appointment. You may also request an appointment online.
Osseointegrated Devices FAQs
Traditional hearing aids amplify sound and bone-anchored hearing aids bypass the outer ear and middle ear entirely and create a new pathway for hearing.
Yes, you can wear a bone-anchored hearing aid on one ear with a traditional hearing aid on the opposite ear. You can also wear bone-anchored hearing aids on one or both ears.
Traditional hearing aids amplify sound and bone-anchored hearing aids bypass the outer ear and middle ear entirely and create a new pathway for hearing.
Yes, you can wear a bone-anchored hearing aid on one ear with a traditional hearing aid on the opposite ear. You can also wear bone-anchored hearing aids on one or both ears.
