Managing Single Sided Deafness - 2019 FDA update
Single Sided Deafness (SSD) means that one hear ears well and the other has profound hearing loss and does not benefit from a hearing aid. The hearing loss can be from birth or can happen suddenly due to trauma or viral infection.
Individuals with SSD have a unique set of hearing needs. Often their friends and family are confused because sometimes the person can understand and communicate well and other times they don’t.
We have two ears for a reason. Two sources of input helps our brains:
Localize or identify where sounds are coming from
Separate a speech signal from a noise signal
Overcome the “head shadow effect” where the head muffles the sound before it arrives at the good ear
Unfortunately, a lot of individuals with SSD have been told just to live with it and get by with their better ear. However, we have options that are beneficial to these individuals, including:
CROS Hearing Aid
CROS stands for contralateral routing of signals. A wireless CROS hearing aid system requires two ear-level devices— one on the good ear and one on the bad. The unaidable ear wears a microphone transmitter which sends the inputs coming in on the the bad side over to the better ear. Newer CROS system coordinate the microphones inputs from both sides to provide a better speech to noise directional enhancement in noisy places. If there is some hearing loss in the “good” ear, amplification can also be provided to that better ear.
Cochlear Implant
In 2019, the FDA first approved cochlear implantation for single-sided deafness. Previously, cochlear implantation was only allowed for those with significant hearing loss in both ears.
The implant can offer some benefits over a CROS system, including:
Provides hearing sensation in the bad ear and that side of the brain
Potential for tinnitus suppression
Allows for localization abilities with practice
However, a good candidate must:
Be dedicated to consistency of using the implant and commitment to auditory training practice.
Have realistic expectations regarding sound quality compared to good ear.
Have a functioning auditory nerve (for example if the nerve has been cut to remove an acoustic neuroma, a cochlear implant is not a viable option).
If you would like more information about your specific case and either of these options, please let us know!
