Life's Worth Hearing
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Life’s worth hearing Exploring a Cochlear™ Bone Conduction Solution Opening up a new world of sound When you live with hearing loss, you’re not simply missing out on sounds, you could be missing out on life. It’s time to get back what you’ve been missing. If you struggle to hear because of conditions such as draining ears, chronic ear infections, acoustic neuroma or Microtia and Atresia, a bone conduction solution may be what you have been waiting for. 2 “ My hearing loss no longer slows me down. The Baha System keeps up with me and my active lifestyle.” Tiff any – Baha recipient 3 Hope when you need it most Every hearing loss is different and the causes vary from person to person. Your hearing loss may affect one ear or both ears and it may stem from a problem in the inner, middle or outer ear. Depending on the degree of hearing loss and which part of the ear is damaged, a bone conduction solution can help you regain access to the sounds you have been missing. Cochlear™ bone conduction solutions are clinically proven medical treatment options for those with single-sided deafness, conductive hearing loss or mixed hearing loss. Single-sided deafness Conductive hearing loss Mixed hearing loss Sensorineural hearing loss in one When your outer or middle ear is Refers to a combination of ear where you have little or no damaged and prevents sound from conductive and sensorineural hearing in that ear, but normal reaching your inner ear. hearing loss. This means there hearing in the other ear. may be damage in both the outer Possible causes: or middle ear and the inner ear. Possible causes: • Malformations at birth Any of the causes of • Sudden deafness • Microtia and/or Atresia conductive hearing loss • Acoustic neuroma • Draining ears plus any of the following: • Birth defects • Chronic ear infections • Aging • Genetics • Previous ear surgeries • Exposure to loud noise • Head trauma • Chronic mastoiditis or middle ear • Head trauma infections • Meniere’s disease • Genetics • Skin growth or cyst • Adverse reactions to drugs • Meniere’s disease (cholesteatoma) • Malformation at birth or missing inner ear or cochlea • Syndromes such as Down, Goldenhar and Treacher Collins 4 Outer ear Middle ear Inner ear Cochlea Ossicles Ear canal Eardrum Auditory nerve Anatomy of the ear 5 6 Understanding treatment options for your hearing loss Today there are a variety of hearing solutions to treat different types of hearing loss. Depending on the type of hearing loss you have, some hearing solutions may be more effective than others. Your hearing implant specialist will recommend the best solution for your hearing loss. Possible solutions for Possible solutions for conductive single-sided deafness and mixed hearing loss • CROS hearing aids • Medications • Bone conduction solutions • Surgery - Cochlear™ Osia® System • Hearing aids - Cochlear™ Baha® System • Bone conduction solutions - Cochlear™ Osia® System - Cochlear™ Baha® System How bone conduction solutions are different Than CROS and traditional hearing aids: Than middle ear surgery: • Our portfolio of bone conduction solutions • If you have had an unsuccessful middle ear offers discreet wearing options that you surgery or surgeries to help restore natural only need to wear on the hearing impaired hearing, a bone conduction solution might ear(s), while CROS hearing aids require be for you. users to wear devices on both the normal • There is risk of damaging your inner ear or and the hearing impaired ear. cochlea during middle ear surgery, which can leave you with hearing loss. • Studies show that bone conduction solutions provide better speech understanding in noise • With a bone conduction solution, there is than CROS hearing aids.1 no risk of damaging residual hearing or the cochlea. • While wearing conventional bone conduction hearing aids, volume and sound quality can be limited because the skin acts as a barrier. • Some hearing aids require users to wear an earmold, which can aggravate existing conditions, such as draining ears. 7 Could a bone conduction solution help you? Ask yourself the following questions and if you answer “yes” to any of them, then a bone conduction solution might be right for you: □ Can you only hear from one ear? □ Do you suffer from sore or irritated ears due to your hearing aids? □ Do you have trouble getting sufficient loudness when using hearing aids? □ Do you suffer from chronic ear infections? □ Do you have draining ears? □ Do you battle feedback such as whistling hearing aids or distorted sound? □ Do you have malformed ears or ear canals? Benefits of hearing through bone conduction Research and decades of experience demonstrate the benefits of a bone conduction solution compared to leaving your hearing loss untreated.2-4 With a bone conduction solution you my be able to: • Hear better, even in noisy situations. • Enjoy a clean, more natural sound because bypassing the damaged part of your ear may reduce the amount of amplification needed to help you hear better. • Hear sounds as if they are coming from both sides. • Become more aware of your surroundings, increasing your ability to hear important sounds. 8 Insurance coverage for a bone conduction solution Unlike hearing aids, bone conduction solutions are covered by Medicare. They are also covered by many insurance plans and typically Medicaid.* Contact a Hearing Implant Specialist to determine if you are a candidate. For additional insurance information and resources visit www.cochlear.com/us/insurance Private Insurance Medicaid Medicare Bone Conduction Covered by most Typically covered.** Covered.† Solutions insurance plans.* Hearing Aids Typically Typically covered.** By law are not covered. not covered. For candidates residing in Canada, you should contact your local hearing implant center to determine coverage. The cost of a hearing implant may be covered by your provincial and territory health insurance plan. Every health insurance plan is diff erent. Coverage varies by each province and territory, the type of hearing implant you may need and your hearing loss. * Contact your insurance company or local Hearing Implant Specialist to determine your eligibility for coverage. ** Coverage for adult Medicaid recipients varies according to state-specifi c guidelines. † Covered for Medicare benefi ciaries who meet CMS criteria for coverage. 9 Adrian – Osia recipient 10 Cochlear bone conduction solutions The Cochlear portfolio of bone conduction solutions off ers implantable and non-surgical options that are designed to meet your individual needs and provide unparalleled hearing performance. All of our bone conduction solutions are scientifi cally proven to treat conductive and mixed hearing loss and single-sided sensorineural deafness. 11 Cochlear bone ® conduction solution Osia System The Osia System is the world’s fi rst active osseointegrated steady-state implant.* It uses piezoelectric stimulation to bypass the damaged areas of the middle and outer ear to send vibrations directly to the inner ear. This type of stimulation is novel for bone conduction solutions. The Osia System is made up of two parts: the implant and transducer (the part that creates the vibrations) that are located under the skin, and the sound processor which is placed externally off the ear. 1 3 2 External sound processor 4 Internal implant How the Osia System works 1 The sound processor captures sound 3 The Piezo Power™ transducer vibrates, sending in the air and digitally analyzes the signal. vibrations through the implant to the bone. 2 The processed signal and power are sent 4 The vibrations travel to the inner ear where through to the implant. they are converted into electrical impulses and sent to the brain to be interpreted as sound. * In the United States, the Osia System is cleared for children ages 12 and older. In Canada, the Osia System is indicated for children ages 5 and older. 12 Osia® 2 Sound Processor The slim, off -the-ear Osia Sound Processor is light and comfortable to wear. As a one-piece unit that includes the magnet and battery, you can simply place it on your head and you’re ready to go. It’s that easy. Its small size is designed to allow you to wear it all day. In fact, you may even forget it’s there. • For those with hearing loss up to 55 dB SNHL* • Off ers direct streaming with compatible Apple® devices** • Dust and moisture resistant† and has been thoroughly drop tested for durability • Can easily become waterproof with the Aqua+ accessory† • Control your hearing experience conveniently from your smartphone with the Osia Smart App • LED light to confi rm that the sound processor is on and connected Osia 2 Sound Processor Color options: Sandy Chocolate Slate Silver Black Blonde Brown Grey Grey * SNHL means sensorineural hearing level. ** For compatibility information, visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility. † The Osia 2 Sound Processor with Aqua+ is waterproof down to three meters for a maximum of 2 hours and dust tight corresponding with a level IP68 of the International Standard IEC60529. 13 Cochlear bone ® conduction solution Baha System The Baha System uses a small abutment to provide a direct connection between the implant and sound processor, which may maximize your hearing performance.* External sound processor 1 2 3 How the Baha Connect System works 1 The Baha® 6 Max Sound Processor picks up sound 3 The sound vibrations are then sent directly through vibrations from the environment. the bone to the inner ear (cochlea) where they are converted into electrical impulses by tiny hair cells 2 The sound vibrations are transferred through an inside the cochlea. These impulses travel to the abutment to a small titanium implant inserted brain, allowing you to perceive sound naturally. in the bone behind the ear. * In the United States and Canada, the placement of a bone conduction implant is contraindicated in children under the age of 5.