by BrianD » 07 Mar 2015, 08:24
I didn't see the One Show in question so don't know the details of the hearing device in question, however, about twelve years ago my son had a BAHA - Bone Anchored Hearing Aid fitted which sounds like the thing mentioned here. It comprised of a metal stud implanted into the bone immediately behind his right ear - a bit like a pop-stud, into which he could clip the hearing aid itself which, at the time, was a small device about half the size of a match-box. It was a very successful solution. I am afraid ! am talking in the past tense as he passed away in April 2010.
He was physically disabled and suffered from Brittle Bone so although he was born with good hearing as he grew older the bones in the inner ear started to degenerate and by the time he was in his mid-teens we noticed that he had lost a significant part of his hearing and this steadily got worse. Initially the Audiology Department fitted standard hearing aids but these basically try to force more sound into the standard ear-drum. The BAHA was much better as it used the skull as a resonating board. I once laid my ear on top of my son's head to try to get an impression of what he was hearing and it was very effective. The problem I noticed, which I think is the same for most people with hearing loss, is that crowded rooms, restaurants etc. can be very difficult environments as the hearing aids pick up all the surrounding "babble" making it very hard to focus on a particular person's speech. I think this is why instrumentals are easier for people with hearing loss to listen to. Certainly my son was also a fan of Shadow music and we took him to two of the concerts during the 2004 Farewell Tour.
I am sure the BAHA technology has moved forward in recent years and we were very grateful to the specialist who was involved with its development and the NHS who implemented it for our son.