Monthly Archives: December 2017

The Ponto 3 SuperPower is a hopeful solution to hearing loss for James Wolff

James Wolff is 71-years-old and has experienced hearing loss for years. In the past, he wore bilateral hearing aids, however, because of drainage in his left ear, he often had to remove the hearing aid which left him with poor hearing on his left side. His daughter, Kimberlee Griffey who has worked at Oticon Medical for 7 years, recounts bringing her bone anchored hearing equipment to Christmas every year for her father to try.

“I’d bring a demo, a softband, and a Streamer to Christmas,  just wanting to test him, but he would say he didn’t need it. Then last Christmas he finally said ‘I think I’m ready for the procedure’.” – Kimberlee Griffey

James had surgery to get his abutment placed in June 2017 with Dr. James Benecke at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Benecke has been working with bone anchored hearing systems (BAHS) for 14 years. He says that for many patients with conductive or mixed hearing loss who cannot have their hearing corrected surgically and cannot use hearing aids because of ear canal and drainage issues, a BAHS is a great option.

When considering a BAHS for his patients, Dr. Benecke investigates and explains all available options. He recommends that his patients talk with other patients who wear different devices, checks insurance options and has patients trial the BAHS on a softband. If an audiometric evaluation is unclear as to whether a person might be a good candidate for the Ponto, he works with Oticon Medical representatives to help with identifying potential candidates when an evaluation might be unclear.

“I always give patients their options and have them chat with people who have tried different systems. Overall, my patient population does better with bone anchored hearing systems as opposed to a CROS hearing aid.” – Dr. Benecke

For James’s procedure, Dr. Benecke performed the Minimally Invasive Ponto Surgery (MIPS). MIPS is a procedure that takes 10-15 minutes and is normally carried out under local anesthetic. He mentions that when someone says the word surgery, most patients have pre-conceived thoughts about what is involved.

“No one wants to have surgery, but if there is an opportunity to improve an aspect of someone’s health by doing a procedure that someone is well informed about and has good outcomes, then people need to know about it so they can make the best-informed decision.” – Dr. Benecke

“When people first think of surgery they think long recovery time—a long time in the operating room. I tell people that with the MIPS procedure it’s less than an hour, outpatient procedure. My dad had no pain whatsoever. It was life-changing for him. My advice is not to wait because you don’t know what you’re missing.” – Kimberlee Griffey

This past September, James was activated with his Ponto 3 SuperPower and the results have been life-changing.

“Before he described sounds as muffled.  Now it is loud and clear.  His volume of speech has significantly decreased because now he can monitor his own speech, where he was not able to do this before. He drives a lot and he’s able to put the microphone on his grandkids and he can hear them in the back seat. He also loves using his Streamer to connect to his phone, TV, and laptop. It has opened a whole new world and I am so very grateful that he is able to get the best of life in his golden years.” – Kimberlee Griffey

As awareness continues to grow around bone anchored hearing and the MIPS procedure, Dr. Benecke says he will continue to advocate for bone anchored hearing because ‘the results speak for themselves’.

“The first thing my dad said after he was fit with his Ponto was ‘why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?’” – Kimberlee Griffey

 

Interested in learning more about the Ponto 3 SuperPower? Click below and we can help connect with you with an audiologist in your area.
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Nathan’s journey to his Ponto 3 SuperPower

Nathan Anderson is 7-years-old. He was born with Treacher Collins syndrome and bilateral conductive hearing loss. His hearing journey began when he was 6 months old with a bone anchored hearing system (BAHS) on a softband.

While his mother, Liz Anderson, was happy her son had the device, they were never happy with the feedback that occurred when someone or something would come in contact with it. Through online communities such as the “BAHA Kids Club World Hearing”, Liz began to learn about other bone anchored hearing options and came across Oticon Medical and the Ponto.

When it came time to decide whether or not he would continue with his device on a softband, Nathan who prior to his BAHS surgeries had had 7 other medical procedures, was unsure about the decision. He spoke with a friend who had gone from a softband to an abutment and received reassurance that the surgery was an easy process.

“When it came time for deciding on whether or not to have surgery for implantation, Nathan made the decision himself. One day at the dinner table, he let us know he was ready.”

In the video below, Nathan’s Ponto 3 SuperPowers are activated!

 

“When I saw videos of adults trying the new Ponto 3 SuperPower, it helped me make the decision that that was the direction we wanted to go. The clarity that people spoke of and children in middle school spoke about trying different BAHS devices but ultimately chose Ponto – that cemented our decision.”

Interested in learning more about our newest Ponto – the Ponto 3 SuperPower? Click the button below to be connected to a representative from our team.
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A Wonderful way to bring awareness to microtia and atresia and a lesson in “choosing kind”

“The doctors and nurses told us that Davin didn’t have ears. That he was going to be a deaf-mute and would never talk or hear. I didn’t believe them and the next day my mom came to the hospital with a yellow piece of paper with writing on it – microtia and atresia” – Shannon Gordon

“I remember the day when my youngest daughter Alyssa (Ally) was born. It was one of the happiest moments in my life. My husband, Brent, and I were so thrilled to finally meet her. I remember her little smile and how beautiful she was, but I also remember Brent coming over to me with tears welled up in his eyes when he said ‘Something is wrong with her ear.’ Ally’s right ear was only partially formed, with no obvious ear canal.” – Melissa Tumblin, Founder of Ear Community

Melissa Tumblin with her daughter, Ally, at the prescreening of the movie Wonder

This is not just Shannon and Melissa’s story. It’s the story that many families with microtia and atresia have faced.

Today, we’re happy to see awareness being spread from the recent movie “Wonder”, which documents the journey of Auggie Pullman, a boy born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, who has microtia and atresia. Although Auggie’s story might be fictional, the lives of approximately 600,000 individuals who have been diagnosed with a craniofacial condition in the U.S. and 34,000 people living with microtia are real. As awareness is cultivated by movies like “Wonder”, so is kindness, responsibility, and friendship. Ultimately, we hope this movie and others like it will continue to inspire the world to ‘choose kind’.

“This movie is bringing a lot of awareness to some of our very rare differences.” – Rachel Plassmeyer