Single-Sided Hearing Loss, There is a Solution

Have a bad ear? The Oticon CROS can help with that

No More Sit On My Good Side!

A chap came to see me a while ago looking for a solution to a frustrating problem. He has suffered from single-sided hearing loss for many years, however, was struggling along quite admirably. It had become the standard joke in his extended family, make sure you sit on his “good side!”

However, in the last year or two, he noticed that he is suffering quite a bit and he rightly assumed that his good ear, was perhaps no longer as good as it was. I told him that I thought I had a solution for his problem, not just for his failing good ear, but also for that long-term bad ear.

How Would You Like to Hear From Both Sides?

I asked him how would he feel if he could hear from both sides? He said it would be fantastic, but he had tried a hearing aid in the bad ear many years ago and it was no use, there wasn’t enough hearing left to do any good. I explained to him that what I had in mind, wouldn’t use his hearing in the bad ear, but it would still allow him to hear from his bad side. While it sounds like sorcery, it is just a pretty amazing technology from Oticon called the CROS.

Good Ear Bad Ear, Bad Ear Worse Ear

I often have people who come to see me with either single-sided hearing loss or with hearing loss in both, with one being much worse. Often, the bad ear has no real hearing at all, perhaps caused by some sort of injury or disease. So it makes no sense to put a traditional hearing aid on the ear, it won’t offer any benefit. However, if we take the sound from that side of the head, and introduce it to the good, or better ear, it gives the wearer access to sounds all around them. This makes life a lot easier for them, and everyone else with them.

Oticon offers a device called a CROS or contralateral routing of signal, a technology that transmits the sound from one ear, to a receiver in the other ear. In the case of Good ear Bad ear, it is a CROS, and in the case of bad ear better ear, it is called a Bi-CROS. The only difference is that the device on the better ear acts as a hearing aid as well as a receiver of the transmissions from the CROS. I explained the technology to him and once we had confirmed his position with a hearing test, I recommended  an Oticon More 1 for his better ear and an Oticon CROS transmitter for his bad ear.

The Results

Once everything had settled down and he had been using the system long enough for his brain to adapt, he found that he was having excellent results. One of the things that stuck out for him was that in the usual problem, he was having little or no problems. One of the real issues for him was conversing with his wife in the car, before wearing the system, he simply couldn’t.

It was irritating at best, especially on longer journeys, but he remarked that it had changed dramatically. He could now hold a conversation with his wife while driving the car with relative ease. Another thing that had changed for him was trying to seat himself just right in any group so that he could hear. Now, he could pretty much sit anywhere and be reasonably sure he could follow the conversation.

He said that he didn’t realise the stress of finding the right position until it wasn’t an issue any more. It made socialising a much more pleasant thing to do. I thought the CROS would be a real solution for him and I am happy with the results, as is he. No one, least of all him, has to plan around his good ear anymore. If you are interested in the CROS system and what it might do for you, or if you are looking for a hearing test and you are interested in the best hearing aid prices in Scotland, call 01506 420519 and Provide Your Details now.