Bone Anchored Hearing Aids (BAHAs)

The Team

The bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) team at Borders General hospital consists of audiologists and ENT nurses with BAHA surgery typically being carried out by our ENT colleagues in Lothian.

Our Services

At the BGH, the BAHA team specialises in helping adults who are unable to wear conventional hearing aids. Paediatric BAHA services are carried out by our audiology colleagues in Lothian.

How hearing aids work

Conventional hearing aids work by sending amplified sound waves through the outer and middle ears into your inner ear (also known as the cochlea). However if there are problem areas or blockages along the way, the sound waves can’t get through very well, or even at all.

BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid) systems get around this difficulty by sending vibrations from a sound processor fitted to the outside of the head, through the bone in the skull directly to the inner ear. This completely bypasses any problem areas in between. This technique is called bone conduction.

In everyday life, you already hear some sounds this way, such as when eating, scratching your head or brushing your teeth. BAHA systems are designed to exploit the full potential of this natural process.

Hearing problems solved with a BAHA solution

We help people overcome many types of hearing loss. For example, a BAHA system could be the right solution for you if: you experience chronic ear infections and diseases such as otosclerosis, wet ear, glue ear and running ear; or have had mastoid surgery.

We may also use BAHA to help people who have no hearing at all in one ear, picking up sound on the deaf side and routing it to the better side.

A BAHA may also be suitable for those who experience deafness or serious hearing losses due to medical conditions such as:

  • Down's Syndrome
  • Treacher Collins Syndrome
  • Cleft Lip/Palate

Three simple steps to better hearing

Getting a BAHA system is easy. You can be referred to us via your GP, ENT consultant or one of our audiologists. Once you have been referred to our service, you will be given an appointment within 18 weeks, but in many cases we’ll act much faster depending on how busy the department is.  There are three simple steps: 

Step 1: Assessment

We run regular clinics where our audiologists assess, test and measure your hearing loss, and explain all about the benefits of the BAHA system.

If you are assessed as being suitable for a BAHA, you will even be given a chance to try a BAHA out for yourself with a sound processor attached to a test headband.

Step 2: Surgery

If you are suitable for treatment, we’ll refer you to NHS Lothian’s ENT department for a surgical procedure to insert a small titanium implant in the bone behind your ear. This usually takes less than an hour and is typically carried out under a general anaesthetic.

You can expect to be back home the same day.

Step 3: Fitting

You’ll come back to our clinic a few weeks after surgery to have your BAHA fitted. The audiologist will show you how the BAHA works and advise you about looking after it.

Our latest processors can be linked to a range of wireless accessories - a remote control, phone clip, mini microphone and TV streamer - which are designed to help you optimise your hearing in different situations, such as in lectures and meetings, or when watching TV with your family and friends.

CROS and BiCROS Hearing Aids

CROS stands for Contralateral Routing of Sound. A CROS hearing aid is a special type of hearing aid for people who are deaf in one ear and have normal hearing in the other ear. A BiCROS hearing aid is similar to a CROS hearing aid but is for people who are deaf in one ear but also hearing impaired in their better ear.  With CROS or BiCROS hearing aids, sound is wirelessly transmitted from the deaf ear into the better ear. What looks like a conventional hearing aid is worn on the deaf ear, but this is a microphone only. This microphone picks up sound from your poorer side and sends it via a wireless connection into a conventional hearing aid on your better ear. The sound can also be amplified if you have a hearing impairment in your better ear.

Potential benefits of a CROS or BiCROS hearing aid

  • To be able to hear sounds from both sides without turning your head
  • This can mean you are less likely to miss someone speaking to you from your poor side
  • This can make you feel less 'cut-off' on your bad hearing side
  • In situations where there is little background noise and the room acoustics are good, CROS/BiCROS aids should be of help

What a CROS or BiCROS hearing aid may not help with

  • These hearing aids cannot improve your ability to tell where a sound is coming from (sound localisation)
  • Background noise and poor acoustic environments are always challenging for hearing aid users
  • If you have your bad ear towards noise the CROS may make it harder to hear than if you didn't have the aid in
  • If you have your good ear towards noise and there is speech coming from the bad side then the CROS might help you to hear the speech, although background noise will always be challenging
  • CROS/BiCROS aids may take longer than standard hearing aids to get used to

Obtaining CROS/BiCROS hearing aids

Obtaining CROS/BiCROS hearing aids is easy. We accept referrals from GPs, ENT consultants and audiologists. If you are already an existing NHS Borders audiology patient and feel you would benefit from CROS/BICROS hearing aids then please talk to one of our audiologists who will be able to advise whether or not this is a suitable option for you.