Meet the team who designed the Cochlear™ Baha® SoundArc, the new non-surgical bone conduction wearing option for pediatric patients. Learn how the engineers and designers drove innovation and filled the gap of a product that has never existed.
The Cochlear™ Baha® System has the power to close the gap between the air and bone line for mixed and conductive hearing loss candidates with a 30 dB or greater loss.1
Hear from Baha recipient, Michelle, about how she closed her air-bone gap with the Baha System.
“My hearing loss journey has been a long process of embarrassment, frustration and denial. During childhood, I had tubes in my ears, many painful ear infections and drank multiple prescriptions of pink bubblegum flavored amoxicillin (medicine used to treat ear infections).
Fast forward to my 20s when the chronic ear infections continued onward! Just whispering the word ‘water’ in my ear would prompt an infection. My ENT at the time was at a loss, and I was tired of all the antibiotics, so she referred me to a doctor who diagnosed me with a cholesteatoma (the scar tissue from the excessive ear infections trapped the moisture and bacteria behind my eardrum and caused more growth of tissue). My first surgery removed the tissue, and my doctor inserted a T-tube; the procedure bought me two years of no infections and having hearing in my left ear.
Unfortunately, my hearing began to deteriorate again, I was in denial over my hearing situation. I felt depressed when I could not hear properly, but continued to let it go. One day, my daughter was whispering something into my ‘bad ear,’ and I could not hear her. I had reached my limit, so I returned to my doctor, and he recommended I try the Cochlear™ Baha® System.
Initially I was afraid of the surgery, but the second my audiologist placed the demo Baha 5 Sound Processor on me, WOW! I could not wait to get it! We opted for the abutment because the doctor had much success with the product. Surgery was about 45 minutes long and went incredibly well, I had minor pain, but never enough to use the prescribed pain medicines. The day the healing cap came off was amazing; the abutment and area around it looked so good. I had a small strip of hair shaved, but I had a huge support group around me to make me feel confident in my decision. We even joked that if people stared at me, I could touch the abutment and act like I was a secret agent.
I am a mail carrier and the Baha 5 Implant System has given me a new joy in all the sounds I hear outside throughout the day on my route. The sound of crinkling leaves and pine needles under my feet is so amazing; I never realized how noisy the world is.
I now feel more confident in conversations and cannot wait to continue on my hearing journey. I actually enjoy using my device as a demo for my friends to hear the sound I hear. Having the surgery and getting the Baha 5 Implant System has changed my life, and I truly wish I had done it sooner.”
Feel the Beat is a dance studio for people with hearing loss in Denver, Colorado. As a local nonprofit in Denver, where the Cochlear Americas headquarters is located, we are excited to raise awareness about how they are changing our local community. Feel the Beat’s mission is to bring music and dance to all, whether they are deaf, hard of hearing or special needs, anyone can take class and fit right in.
As a dance studio for people with hearing loss, Feel the Beat is dedicated to making music and dance accessible to all. They accomplished this goal by building a specialized vibrational dancefloor embedded with Bone Conduction technology. This allows students with a conductive or mixed hearing loss to be able to hear the music, and lets all students feel the music as the floor vibrates through their bones. Students at Feel the Beat can feel all aspects of the music, including distinction of instruments, singing, beat, rhythm and bass regardless of the type and degree of hearing loss.
More about the Technology 
Feel the Beat’s specialized flooring combines vibrations from transducers and pliable material that reverberates with the beat. To put it simply, transducers are pieces of equipment that transform sound into vibrations that can be both felt and heard through the body (similarly the way a Baha system works). The TST429 Platinum Professional Transducer provides the ultimate performance and output of full-fidelity, full-frequency sound with a frequency response from 5Hz to 17kHz. With these transducers embedded into Feel the Beat’s specially engineered dance floor–magic happens! Beat, rhythm, bass and all other aspects of music are transformed from auditory signals into vibrations, making music uniquely accessible to all students through physical sensation.
How can this be beneficial to your patients?
Research shows that there are many ways children benefit from dance and movement. When children are engaged in dance and movement, they experience enhanced physical development, emotional maturity, cognitive development, self-confidence and social awareness. 1 Dancing is a medium through which individuals who have hearing loss can more openly express their thoughts and feelings and enjoy this form of physical communication on a higher level.
If your patients live near Denver, Colorado (or are visiting), let them know about Feel the Beat and give them the opportunity to feel the music for themselves.
Learn more about Feel the Beat and their specialized dancefloor in this local news story.
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