The American Academy of Audiology says, “About 60,000 people in the U.S. develop or lose hearing in one ear each year.” Unilateral hearing loss or single-sided deafness can be caused by a viral infection or autoimmune diseases, injury, loud noise exposure, a shortage of blood to the auditory pathway, or a benign tumor on the nerve that connects the ear to the brain or may be unknown. Our brain relies on hearing from both ears to help us hear best in background noise and localize where a sound originates. It can be embarrassing and frustrating, leading to social isolation.
Contralateral Routing of Signals or CROS hearing aids were developed specifically for people with hearing loss in one ear.
To get around (literally) your head, the CROS hearing system involves wearing a microphone and a transmitter on the “bad” ear that picks up sound and wirelessly sends it to a hearing aid in your “good” ear. This system gets the sound blocked and distorted by your head (called the head-shadow effect) to your good ear.
The other hearing aid option is BiCros for people who also have some hearing loss in their “good” ear. The hearing aid in the better ear is also programmed for amplification.
Like any hearing aid, they take time to get used to, and they will not solve all your hearing problems. Identifying where a sound is coming from may still be tricky when localizing sound. However, you should have increased awareness of your surroundings and improved speech perception. You’ll need to give it some time and use it full-time. You may be surprised at how much help it does provide.
BIO: Kyle Kuhlman is a board certified, licensed Hearing Instrument Specialist with Eye Surgeons Associates. His expertise is specifically in late onset nerve deafness in ranges from very mild to severe. Hearing and vision problems frequently occur together as we age, at ESA you can conveniently take care of both.
The material contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider.
