Hearing aids

I thought I might as well post about hearing aids since as far as I know anyone affected with TCS will have hearing loss. I am old school in that I haven't upgraded to a digital aid but like with what happened with my radio mic system I will be forced to upgrade if it breaks as the parts aren't available any more.

There are several different types of hearing aids:
Behind the ear hearing aids-what most people use especially older people with hearing loss, not really suitable for people with TCS who don't have proper ears.
Bone conducting-this is what I have, it consists of two pieces on connected by a wire, it is mostly used on a removable metal band which is placed on the head with each piece on either side of the head but I find a fabric band to be much more comfortable.
Bone anchored hearing aid (or BAHA as it is more commonly known)-for this you have to get a screw implanted in the side of your head, once healed you can then attach the small hearing aid.

I have not included cochlear implant as apparently it is not considered a proper hearing aid.

Recently it seems every doctor I meet asks have I considered a BAHA and to be honest whilst I've thought about it I'm just not fussed on the idea of having a screw on the side of my head which requires surgery and which could possibly but not very likely be knocked out along with a bit of skull (I had asked a doctor about whether or not it could be knocked out and he said very rarely but told me of an instance where a mother had hers knocked out by her child's shoe...) The line I always seem to use is "what if something better comes along in the next few years that doesn't require surgery" but I may be kidding myself. The fact is I've heard a lot of positive things about the BAHA and also that it is a lot better than the bone conducting but for now I think I'll stick with the one I have at the moment as I've managed pretty well with it up to now.