Dr. F gave me another call today to let me know that he had consulted with Dr. S. He asked me which way I was leaning - translab, where I would definitely lose the hearing, or middle fossa, which would allow for a chance of saving the hearing. I said middle fossa, which seemed to surprise Dr. F, who then stressed the fact that I would most likely lose my hearing either way and that translab was their recommendation. He also reiterated that "radiation therapy is not for [me]."
He went on to more fully explain the BAHA (bone-anchored hearing aid) device, and how that it does a good job allowing people to "hear" on both sides. The BAHA consists of a titanium implant that is screwed into the bone behind the ear and a processor that snaps onto the part of the implant that sticks out of the skin. The processor picks up the sounds from that side of the head and transfers the vibrations to the skull where they are "heard" by the other ear. Dr. F said that 25% of the patients with single-sided deafness (SSD) at House get a BAHA and that 90% of those people are happy with the device.
Dr. F told me to expect a call from Dr. S and said that he would have his surgical coordinator give me a call as well to discuss scheduling surgery and insurance coverage. He also gave me his cell phone number and said to call him if I had any other questions.
(In the interest of full disclosure, this post was actually written on 1/29/09.)
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