When an individual has one ear with normal hearing or mild/moderate hearing loss and the other ear is not “aidable,” a “contralateral routing of signal” (CROS) amplification system may be recommended. This feature utilizes a microphone in an instrument worn in the user’s non-hearing ear to pick up sound, which is then transmitted to a hearing instrument in the better ear. BiCROS (“bilateral microphones with contralateral routing of signal”) amplification systems are sometimes recommended when both ears have hearing loss but one ear hears substantially better than the other. With these instruments, all hearing is being accomplished with the better ear, not with both ears, even though hearing is generated from the poorer side.
If you have questions about hearing instruments, hearing deficits, or hearing evaluations, or if you just need to talk to an audiologist about the state of your hearing, we want you to know you are always welcome at The Ear Clinic, 46 Nelson Street W., across from the LCBO. Perhaps you have a hearing aid sitting in a drawer somewhere because it did not live up to your expectations. If so, bring it to us and let us take a look. It may be that a switch in styles or a simple adjustment is all it takes to bring your hearing abilities up to maximum capacity. Call us at 226-909-0966 so you can once again hear the sounds of your life.
P.S. CROS hearing instruments are often recommended for single-sided deafness (SSD) or for people with very poor unilateral word recognition abilities.