WHO IS A CANDIDATE FOR BONE CONDUCTION HEARING THERAPY?
One in eight people in the United States (13 percent, or 30 million) aged 12 years or older has hearing loss in both ears, based on standard hearing examinations.1 If you or a loved one was born with or developed hearing loss, it can leave you feeling frustrated or low on options — but there’s hope.
Traditional hearing aids benefit many people, but others may need more advanced treatment or a combination approach. The Alpha 2 MPO ePlus™ bone conduction hearing aid uses bone conduction hearing technology to maximize your body’s natural ability to transfer sound.
TYPES OF HEARING LOSS
The Alpha 2 MPO ePlus™ device is suitable for patients with conductive hearing loss, mixed hearing loss, and single-sided sensorineural hearing loss. Read more about each type of hearing loss and consult your physician to find out if bone conduction hearing therapy is an option for you.
CONDUCTIVE HEARING LOSS
What it is: The damaged outer or middle ear is bypassed by placing sound reception directly onto the skull and to the inner ear.
Causes: Middle ear problems such as middle ear infections, otosclerosis, head injuries that damage middle ear bones or birth defects.
Symptoms: Generally ranges from mild to moderately severe hearing loss. You may have a "plugged" feeling in your ears, but your own voice may sound louder.
Treatment: Depending on the degree of loss, a traditional aid may work as well as the abutment-free Alpha 2 MPO ePlus™ magnetic bone-anchored hearing system (BAHS).
MIXED HEARING LOSS
What it is: The middle or inner ear may no longer process sound. The bone of the skull directs sound to the cochlea. It is usually a combination of conductive and sensorineural (nerve damage) hearing loss.
Causes: Mixed Loss can be caused by a combination of disorders including middle ear, and/or damage to the inner ear structures (cochlea) or to the auditory nerve pathway.
Symptoms: Can range from mild to a profound (deaf) hearing loss. Sound volume is softer and sounds are often distorted or difficult to understand.
Treatment: The degree of hearing loss affects the treatment, but options are traditional aids or bone-anchored hearing system (BAHS).
SINGLE-SIDED SENSORINEURAL HEARING LOSS
What it is: For total deafness in one ear, sound projected to the cochlea provides clarity and direction of sound better than hearing aids.
Causes: Birth defects, tumors around the hearing nerve, head injuries or diseases, or an unknown reason.
Symptoms: Severe hearing loss or total deafness in only one ear, an inability or difficulty to understand speech on the deaf ear or lack of ability to directional sound.
Treatment: The Alpha 2 MPO ePlus™ can be an excellent option.
BONE CONDUCTION HEARING THERAPY
If you have been diagnosed with conductive hearing loss, mixed hearing loss, or single-sided sensorineural hearing loss, bone conduction hearing therapy with the Alpha 2 MPO ePlus™ bone-anchored hearing aid might be the right treatment for you.
1
Lin FR, Niparko JK, Ferrucci L. Hearing loss prevalence in the United States. [Letter] Arch Intern Med. 2011 Nov 14; 171(20): 1851-1852.