George's Sharebook 

The following is the presentation I gave before the Baha Champion Event in Louisville, Kentucky on January 28, 2010. It is the story of my hearing loss and the resulting frustration and disappointment with traditional hearing aids. But more than that, it is a story of hope that was fulfilled by having a Baha Implant and being fitted with a Baha Devino Sound Processor. It is my hope if you or a loved one has a hearing loss that you will explore the incredible technology that has restored my hearing and could possibly do the same for you or your loved one. I want to express my thanks to Ally SD- Awareness Network Manager for Cochlear America for inviting me to share my story.

I am thrilled to be here tonight to share with you my enthusiasm for my BAHA implant. When I was asked to speak to you and to share my story, I recognized an opportunity to provide you with an insight, understanding and appreciation for the Baha Implant and sound processor that I did not have.

Like many of you, I suspect you have dealt with hearing loss for many years. For me, it began as a child with multiple ear infections. I don’t recall noticing that I had a hearing loss when I was young, but I vividly remember the ear pain. I also remember how my mom would take her hand and cup it around my ear so the heat from her hand would soothe the pain. I remember when I was in grade school, I was always in the slow class. For some reason I had difficulty learning. I’m not sure if it was because of my hearing but in hind-sight, it very well could have been.

It wasn’t until I was stationed in Vietnam in 1971 that my hearing took a sudden drop. My doctor did a myringotomy and when it didn’t have the results he hoped for, he suspected I might have a cholesteatoma. A cholesteatoma is essentially a benign tumor that spread and eroded the bones in my middle ear. I was evacuated to Japan for further testing where they discovered that I indeed had an extensive cholesteatoma. From there, I was deprived of six more months of adventure and happiness in Vietnam and was evacuated back to the states where I had a left radical mastoidectomy.

From 1971 until April 2008, I had to endure chronic ear infections, severe pain, and of course many visits to my ENT doctor. During this time period, I was fitted with traditional hearing aids and one untraditional one that was actually built into a Buddy-Holly type of eyeglasses where the sound waves were picked up by a speaker and transmitted by a plate pressed against my mastoid bone enabling me to hear. Because of my hearing condition or bone conductive loss, these types of hearing aids were of very little help. The mold that was inside my ear canal would cause moisture to collect and often lead to more ear infections. In the case of the Buddy-Holly eyeglass hearing aid, when I sweated the moisture caused the plate to lose contact with my skin thereby reducing the effectiveness of the hearing aid. The bottom line, after being fitted with several types of hearing aids over the years, none of them improved my hearing.

For many years, I continued to deal with the frustration of my hearing loss. Because my right ear was so good, my single-sided deafness was the source of endless frustration, anxiety and often led to irritability. I asked the VA on numerous occasions what could be done to correct my hearing loss and on every occasion I was told nothing other than the hearing aids I already tried.

Finding a way to improve my hearing was of great importance to me. I was tired of not being able to understand what people were saying, tired of asking people to repeat what they said, tired of not being able to hear the sounds of music, being able to fully enjoy television or the movies, and so many more activities where hearing clear and understandable sounds is so vital.

Aside from my personal life, my hearing loss greatly impacted my professional life. In group meetings, I had extreme difficulty localizing sounds, in fact, my head would often bob from side-to-side trying to determine where the sound was coming from. Some people thought I had Tourette’s syndrome. To be honest, I sometimes wished I was totally deaf. Why? Because if I was totally deaf, people would understand and be more tolerant of my hearing loss. Not only that, if I was totally deaf then I would not have to deal with all the frustrations related to single-sided deafness.

Just a few short years ago, my frustration with my hearing loss was reaching a peak. I spoke with an ENT doctor and audiologist at the VA Medical Center in Dayton Ohio. They told me of the Baha implant and strongly suggested that I have that done. I resisted. I wanted to have normal hearing. I didn’t want to feel like a bionic man with a screw in my head. unfortunately the VA could not put me in contact with anyone who could give me a good appreciation for the Baha implant, and because of that, I decided not to have the Baha implant surgery.

Finally, a civilian ENT doctor told me about the House Ear Institute in California. I contacted a Dr. Derald Brackman, a renowned and internationally known surgeon at the Institute and was told I stood a good chance of having my ear surgically repaired and my hearing restored. Imagine my jubilation? I eagerly made plans to go to the House Ear Institute. This was NOT surgery to have a Baha implant, it was reconstructive surgery of my middle ear to restore my hearing. It involved two operations that had to be done in two stages a year apart. After these two ear surgeries, I was told the surgeries were unsuccessful. Imagine my disappointment!

After the disappointment subsided, I looked to the future and once again inquired about a Baha Implant. With little hesitation and the support and encouragement of my fiancé, I made an appointment at the VA Medical Center in Cincinnati Ohio. Within weeks I had my Baha implant surgery. After three months for healing and to allow the titanium implant to osseointegrate with my bone, I snapped on my new Baha Divino.

My friends, I am here tonight to tell you that the Baha implant has changed my life. The Baha implant has literally given me a new lease on life. Where I could not hear and understand what people were saying before – I now hear and understand them so much better. Where I was not able to enjoy music – I now delight in so many wonderful sounds of music. I remember the first Sunday my wife and I attended church, the organ started playing, the choir started singing and my Baha transformed my hearing experience into sounds of joy I had not heard for decades. As I listened to the organ music and the choir singing, I marveled at the sounds I was hearing. I was so amazed and excited that I started crying. It was like I was hearing in Surround Sound. I was actually hearing sounds in my left ear. Not only that, the sounds were so natural sounding. It was like what my hearing should of been if my ear was a normal healthy ear.

Now my friends, I have very little difficulty localizing sounds, very little difficulty participating in group discussions, and very little difficulty understanding speech in a variety of settings. If I am in a group setting, I can now participate free of the anxiety my hearing loss caused me. If I am talking with friends or family, I seldom have to ask them to repeat themselves. Thanks to my Baha Sound Processor, no longer do I have to cope with the daily frustration and irritability that came from my hearing loss.

On several occasions, I have accidentally knocked my Baha off and to my amazement, I realized once again, just how incredible the Baha is. As soon as my Baha was disconnected my ability to hear dropped drastically. It is moments like this when I am reminded of how thankful I am that I had my Baha surgery.

I am not here tonight to sell you on having Baha implant surgery. That is a decision you need to make personally with careful consultation with your ENT doctor and audiologist. I am not telling you that if you have a Baha Implant that your hearing will improve as dramatically as mine has. I am here tonight though, to share with you my story, my enthusiasm for the Baha Implant and how it has transformed my life. This I do know. If I had someone who could have told me with enthusiasm and sincerity how effective and marvelous the Baha implant surgery could be, I would not have had two needless surgeries to try to reconstruct my ear.

Please keep in mind the Baha Devino is not perfect. As wonderful as it is, and my friends, it truly is wonderful, the truth is when there are sudden loud noises the ability of the Devino to control that sudden burst of noise is limited. Thanks to the progressive research and development team of Cochlear there is a new Baha Sound Processor called the BP100 that addresses the limitations and greatly improves on the Baha Devino. After reading over the brochure for the BP100, I find myself anxiously awaiting the day the VA will provide me with an upgrade to the BP100.

If you are tired of missing out on what the rest of the world hears; if you are tired of missing out on what your family, friends, children and grandchildren say to you – you owe it to yourself to seriously consider how the Baha implant and the appropriate sound processor for your hearing condition can transform your life. Because of my Baha, the quality of my life, the quality of my hearing life has been greatly enhanced.

My wife Nancy, if she were here tonight would say to you, "The Baha makes George more comfortable in group settings, he’s not constantly turning his head from side-to-side which has made strangers look at him in a peculiar way. I can yell at him from another room and have him hear me now. He’s constantly telling me how wonderful his Baha is compared to the hearing aids he had in the past, and how wonderful and natural the sound is."

I hope what I have shared with you will be helpful in making the right decision to improve the quality of your hearing life. Whatever you do, don’t let fear and don’t let un-answered questions keep you from taking those first steps to change the way you hear the world.

Tonight, you have taken that first step to understanding what a Baha Sound Processor can do for you. Tonight you have before you a wealth of resources that can answer your questions. I would be honored to answer any questions you may have after the program convenes. If there is one last thing I can leave with you tonight, it is HOPE!