Baha Implants
For patients who are not good atresia repair candidates, or where a skilled atresia repair surgeon is not available, a Baha device can be used to correct the hearing loss on the atretic side. Baha stands for Bone Anchored Hearing Appliance. Surgically implanted Baha devices use an abutment embedded in the skull to transmit sound by direct conduction through bone to the inner ear, bypassing the external auditory canal and middle ear.
A sound processor is attached to the titanium abutment. The implant vibrates the skull and inner ear, which stimulate the nerve fibers of the inner ear, allowing hearing while bypassing all the sources of the conductive hearing loss caused by the atresia. The minimum age in the United States for Baha implantation under FDA guidelines is 5. |
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