Bone-Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) and OSIA™ Hearing Implants: Bone Conduction for Better Hearing

What Is the OSIA™ System?

The OSIA™ system is an advanced type of bone conduction hearing implant for people with certain types of hearing loss. It sends sound vibrations directly to your inner ear through the bone, bypassing problems in the outer or middle ear.

Unlike traditional hearing aids that sit in the ear canal or behind the ear and amplify sound through the air, the OSIA system is a surgically implanted device that uses digital processing and bone conduction to deliver clearer, crisper sound.

It’s especially helpful for people with:

• Conductive hearing loss
• Mixed hearing loss
• Single-sided deafness (SSD)

The system can be trialed before committing to surgery by wearing a “softband” to see what it will sound like.

How It Works

The OSIA system has two parts:

• The Implant — Surgically placed in the bone behind your ear. It includes a small “piezoelectric” device that sends vibrations directly to the bone.
• The Sound Processor — Worn on the outside of your head, it captures sounds, processes them, and sends them to the implant through a magnetic connection.

Together, they bypass damaged areas of the ear and send sound straight to your inner ear and hearing nerve.

Is It Right for Me?

You might be a candidate for OSIA if:

• You have chronic ear infections or ear canal problems that make wearing hearing aids difficult
• You have conductive or mixed hearing loss that hasn’t responded well to hearing aids
• You have hearing loss in one ear and normal hearing in the other

We’ll perform a thorough hearing evaluation and talk through your options to see if OSIA is a good fit for you.

What’s the Process Like?

1. Evaluation
   We start with a full hearing test and consultation. We may also do a demo with a soft test band so you can try bone conduction before surgery.
2. Surgery
   The outpatient surgery takes about 1 hour and is typically done under general anesthesia. Recovery is usually quick, with most people returning to normal activities within one week.
3. Activation
   The implant is activated about four weeks after surgery. You’ll be fit with your sound processor and begin your hearing journey with the OSIA system.
4. Follow-Up and Support
   We’ll schedule regular follow-up appointments to fine-tune your device and help you adjust. Most people notice a big improvement in speech clarity and sound awareness.