My name is Natalya, I have had a BAHA on my right side since 1992.

I was born with a severe to profound (75-90dB) bilateral hearing loss as a result of fused middle ear bones and some damage to my inner ears. I have a slightly malformed left outer ear, and more severely malformed right outer ear and no right ear canal (bilateral atresia and microtia). When I was 10 months old I was fitted with a bone conduction alice-band hearing aid, upgrading to a Phonak model like this one.

In 1989 I was lucky enough to meet Mr R, a doctor who had an immediate impact upon my life. After discussing solutions to my ongoing breathing problems he introduced me to the BAHA a revolutionary hearing aid which would be attached to a bolt which would be screwed into my skull. Initially I was NOT impressed the idea of a bolt in my head did not appeal to me, nor did more surgery - it wasn't a nice simple procedure like it is now. I'd already had over 30 operations and I was sick of doctors, hospitals, and anything or anyone associated with them. Mr R did not push the BAHA any further at that time, while making it clear that if I ever wanted to discuss the BAHA further, or consider it I only ever had to ask.

Less than two years later in 1991 I changed my mind. I decided I had had neough of the alice-band hearing aid which was beginning to cause irritation behind my ears and give me pressure headaches. Extensive tests were carried out including a hearing test with a 'bite-bar' which was a small dumbell shaped piece of perspex which had an 'abutment' mounted in it, which a BAHA could be attached to. The bite-bar conducts sound through the teeth and jaw the same principle of bone conduction which inspired the initial development of the BAHA back in 1977!

I was an ideal candidate for the BAHA as my hearing loss is mostly conductive. In April 1991 I underwent the first operation, the insertion of the titanium fixture in the bone behind my ear. I had a pounding headache for a day or two, but by the third and final day of my hospital stay I felt fine. Three months later in July 1991 the second operation to take a partial thickness skingraft from under my right arm was carried out - my head felt fine, but the skin under my arm too several weeks to heal and has scarred badly. On 2nd January 1992 I had the abutment inserted through the skin-graft into the fixture under local anaesthetic.

Two weeks later I was fitted with a black BAHA HC 200 (bass) model!

No more pressure headaches! No more NHS beige!

For me the BAHA means the difference between hearing effectively nothing and being able to use what I hear through it with lipreading to understand conversational speech. I listen to music on my computer or portable MP3 player using Entific's audio adaptor. Before I got the audio adaptor 10 years ago I had never been able to experience listening to music through headphones. At home I use a telecoil unit with the induction loop amplifier we have connected to the back of the television - allowing me my own tone controls and ability to have the volume higher than hearing people or the neighbours would be happy with!

I am also able to chase up many public places which display an Induction Loop System Here sign when their Induction Loops Dont Work! I have even had some success!

I now wear a black BAHA Classic 300 on my right side. In July 2006 I will be having a second fixture and abutment implanted under local anaesthetic in Manchester and getting my second BAHA sometime after October 2006.