Question
When would a patient with a bone-anchored hearing system need a new speech processor?
Answer
Approximately 30 percent of people who use bone-anchored hearing systems because of conductive hearing loss; the other 70 percent have single-sided deafness (SSD). We know that as with many patients with hearing loss, with SSD the hearing in the better ear may change over time, i.e., worsen as the patient gets older. When the hearing changes, a more powerful processor may be in order. In addition, technology has advanced very rapidly in this area, and there are new products with new features coming out all the time. Medicare will cover a new processor once every five years or until the processor is no longer useful. So the most common reasons for a new processor are that the patient’s hearing has changed, or that the processor is over five years old and the patient could benefit from new technology that is now available.
This Ask the Expert was taken from Mr. Gorman’s recent AudiologyOnline interview – read the full interview here. For further information, please visit https://www.oticonmedical.com/ or the Oticon Medical Expo Page on AudiologyOnline.
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