Swedish audiology and sound-processing company Oticon Medical has just celebrated its fourth Good Vibrations Day. Taking place annually on 3 May, the event was devised to raise awareness of bone conduction as an alternative for those with conductive, mixed or single-sided hearing losses. Participation was open to all bone-conduction device manufacturers, audiology professionals and wearers with the goal of celebrating the benefits of the treatment worldwide.
The date was chosen because it is the birthday of Per-Ingvar Brånemark, a Swedish physician and research professor known as the father of osseointegration, and the godfather of bone-anchored hearing. His discoveries enabled the development of modern bone-conduction hearing devices.
Wearers were encouraged to share video clips, photos and stories depicting their lives with a bone-anchored hearing system. Hearing-care professionals were also invited to share their experiences fitting the devices and the benefits their patients have enjoyed.
“I think a bone-anchored hearing system supports an individual’s listening experience by simply giving them access to language and the sound in their environment,” said Educational Audiologist Elaine McCarty. “Being able to know what’s happening in their environment, connecting with other people, I think it’s a big one. Bringing that oomph to their system with the use of a tool like the bone-anchored hearing system to give them better access to that.”
Bone-conduction systems treat hearing loss by bypassing missing or damaged portions of the wearer’s outer or middle ear and sending vibrations via the skull directly into the cochlea. From there, they are processed by the brain as sound. More than 400,000 people around the world use some form of a bone-conduction hearing device and have benefited from the treatment.
"As we mark our fourth year celebrating Good Vibrations Day, our dedication to the importance of sound remains unwavering," said René Govaerts, General Manager at Oticon Medical. "Given that many people around the world are still unaware of bone-anchored hearing systems, Oticon Medical remains committed to advancing our collaborative efforts with other manufacturers, hearing-care professionals and current wearers to ensure that the transformative capability of bone conduction reaches all those in need."
