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Bone-anchored hearing aids are made to work on what is known as bone conduction, which transmits sound from the person's inner ear through the skull bones. This kind of hearing aid is often used by people who have experienced types of hearing loss that does not allow them to hear using the more common forms of hearing aids.

Hearing loss that is known as conductive occurs when people have problems processing sound waves along the ear canal. It is one type of hearing loss for which bone conduction is an option for hearing devices. Bone-anchored hearing aids are also helpful for people who have suffered unilateral hearing loss, or hearing loss in one ear.

The bone-anchored hearing aid involves surgical implantation of a device into the patient's skull, with a small post visible on the outside of the skin. A sound processing device is placed on this post, which allows for sound to travel through the bones of the skull and vibrate the patient's inner ear. Once the inner ear is vibrating, hearing can take place.

The hearing aid is known as 'bone-anchored' because the surrounding bone grows around the implant without a soft tissue layer in a process known as osseointegration. Osseointegration can take several months to complete, but once it has, the bone-anchored hearing aid can be used.

The surgery to perform the implantation process has typically been risky. Advancements in the surgery have been made, however, allowing for smaller incisions and less invasive procedures. Currently many patients are able to complete their surgery in a few hours under local anesthesia. For children or infants who need the procedure, physicians will usually perform it in two stages, one in which they drill the holes into the skull behind the ear, then allow the skull to grow and for osseointegration to occur, and perform a second surgery in which the implant is made.

The aftermath for the patient in receiving a bone-anchored hearing aid has been the constant risk of infection. Patients with bone-anchored hearing aids must be sure to keep the skin around their implant clean, and to apply antibacterial ointment every day.

Unfortunately, many of the bone-anchored hearing aid sound devices are fragile, and anyone who has one should be careful not to break or damage it. In the event that this happens, however, the companies that manufacture them have a warranty and replacement policy. The patient's audiologist may have devices that can be loaned until the repair or replacement is complete.

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Q: How Hearing Aids Work Through Bone Conduction ?
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Related questions

What is the difference conductive deafness and sensorineural deafness?

Conductive Loss - Normal hearing for bone conduction scores ([ & ]), and showing a hearing loss for Air Conduction scores (X &O) Sensorineural Loss- Hearing loss (equally) for both air and bone conduction


Does bone conduction cause hearing loss?

not they i have ever heard of. i guess it depends where it is


If a hearing threshold were at 50 dB HL by air conduction and 5 dB HL by bone conduction what type of hearing loss exists?

Conductive, assuming the scores represent the same ear. The bone conduction is within normal limits while the air conduction score represents a mild to moderate loss.


Which one bone or air conducts sound more loudly?

Air conduction is more efficient than bone conduction, although conduction through bone may be "heard" more loudly because it is a direct conduction into the middle ear and there is a component of "feeling" the sound with bone conduction.


What is Rinne test?

a hearing test comparing perception of air and bone conduction in one ear with a tuning fork, normally air conduction is more acute


What has the author E H Huizing written?

E. H Huizing has written: 'Bone conduction' -- subject(s): Ear, Hearing


Does Medicaid cover hearing aids?

External Hearing Aids, Implantable Hearing Aids, and Cochlear Implants Section 1862(a)(7) of the Social Security Act states that no payment may be made under Part A or Part B for any expenses incurred for items or services "where such expenses are for … hearing aids or examinations therefore…" In addition, 42 CFR 411.15(d) states that "Hearing aids or examination for the purpose of prescribing, fitting, or changing hearing aids" are excluded from coverage. Medicare defines a hearing aid as any device that does not produce as its output an electrical signal that directly stimulates the auditory nerve. Since both external and implantable hearing aids use functional air and/or bone conduction pathways to facilitate hearing, they are excluded from Medicare coverage. Cochlear implants are coverable since they do produce as their output an electrical signal that directly stimulates the auditory nerve. If services associated with a hearing aid are provided to a beneficiary, the provider must advise the beneficiary that the services are excluded from Medicare coverage and that he/she will be financially responsible for payment. The provider may choose to give the beneficiary a Notice of Exclusions from Medicare Benefits form (NEMB).


Is it possible to hear without ears through the use of bone conduction?

To a certain (small) extent, yes.


Why bone conduction is better than air conduction in pure tone audiometry?

Because bone is a denser medium, sound travels faster and stronger through it than through air. Bone conduction never gives the body time to process sound properly because the sound never hits the middle ear process where it can be filtered and buffered. Instead, the signal goes into the bone, often around the mastoid bone or the skull area, and then travels directly to the nervous system and the brain without ever being filtered or buffered.


Is normal hearing conducted by air or bone?

Ultrasound can be perceived through bone conduction by the profoundly deaf as well as by normal-hearing subjects. Moreover, speech signals modulated onto ultrasound can be detected through bone conduction. This study explored how well listeners can understand ultrasonic speech and the confusion patterns to evaluate and improve bone-conducted ultrasonic hearing. The intelligibility of Japanese words classified by familiarity and Japanese monosyllables with bone-conducted ultrasound was investigated. Results showed that the intelligibility of familiar words was higher than that of unfamiliar words. Further, the results of a monosyllable intelligibility test with bone-conducted ultrasound and those of a test with air-conducted sound showed a similar pattern of speech recognition with regard to the errors made. The relationship between speech intelligibility and sound level showed that the increase in the intelligibility of bone-conducted ultrasonic speech did not exceed the increase in the intelligibility of air-conducted speech as the sound level rose.


Sound heard in one ear but not in the other during bone and air conduction?

conduction deafness


What happens if your bone in your ear is bent back to the other bone?

If the bones of the middle ear are damaged in any way, then a loss of hearing, called conduction deafness, occurs. Any type of damage will destroy the ossicles ability to amplify and transmit sound vibrations.