IN the early months of 2015, the first micro-electronic cochlear implant was made in the first surgical operation on young Filipino children. The device was then estimated to cost between at least P660,000 and P880,000. Meanwhile, the surgical procedure cost one to two million pesos.
In that same year, three researchers (Gen-di Yin, Xiangli Zeng and Peng Li) from the Third Affiliated Hospital in Guangzhou (China) reported that four to 10 percent of patients who had the bone-anchored hearing aid (Baha) had their implants removed for various reasons, such as implantation failures and severe skin reactions.
It is unclear if the newly introduced cochlear implant was the same Baha in the study, though. The national business newspaper report failed to mention the cochlear implant’s material base. The Baha, however, is platinum-based.
Moreover, the technology was not new as the news report claimed because its first clinical application was in 1971, according to the Yin, Zeng and Li report in the Journal of Otology. Since then (and until 2015), though, there had been at least 80,000 patients using Baha worldwide.
Nevertheless, the Baha has three parts: the titanium implant, the titanium base, and the sound processor, which is detachable.
There was a case in Guangzhou wherein he was implanted with Baha while he was six years old. He, however, developed long-term otitis media in both ears due to a rejection reaction with the implanted titanium plate. In the next 10 years or more, he had foul odor, yellow-pus ear discharges (known in Cebuano as “bungog”) and hearing loss in both ears. Consequently, he had to be hospitalized at age 20 in the Third Affiliated Hospital.
Their findings indicate that skin adverse reactions are rare effects of Baha implantation. The most common causes of these reactions were found to be allergy to titanium, inadequate surgical skills and poor skin hygiene of the patient.
Technology can provide a simple solution to hearing loss. However, making it work may not be that simple at times. They key is to make sure you know the technology yourself from independent sources before subjecting yourself or your loved ones to invasive procedures such as cochlear implants.