Single Sided Hearing Loss

Posted by nla4625 @nla4625, Feb 10, 2021

I'm amazed how many posts there have been lately about single sided hearing loss and think having our own thread might be beneficial. I'm missing something really important about this issue and hope someone will please help me understand it. I used to explain my hearing issue to people who asked as follows: when you have two good ears, sound comes in from both sides and your brain can select what it wants to "hear". When you have only one good ear, sound comes in on one side and your brain can't separate out what it wants to "hear." It's all noise. Is that right or am I totally wrong? If it is right and I get the cros hearing aid, how will moving sound from my deaf ear over to my good ear make any difference in my ability to hear? Sound is still going in one side and will still be noise. I understand that if I need the bicros hearing aid, it will pick up the sound from my deaf ear, move it to my good ear and enhance the ability to hear in my good ear. This is really complex. I'm rooting for the new technology in the article Ken sent out about growing new tiny hairs in the ears of hard of hearing people to help them hear more clearly. Thanks for helping me understand this. Nancy

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judysmayo | @judysmayo | Feb 14, 2021

The advantage to the Cros is that (in the past anyway!) it cost less than the actual hearing aid for my good ear. I was pushing to get a cochlear in my deaf ear but do not qualify under Medicare bc the word recognition in my hearing ear is too “good”! It’s a sticking point with me because the hearing test is not what I experience in daily life with my ability to understand what people are saying. I believe the lack of any background sound in the testing booth combined with knowing the words, after years of tests, skews the results.

joyces | @joyces | Feb 14, 2021

In reply to @judysmayo "The advantage to the Cros is that (in the past anyway!) it cost less than the..." + (show)

In addition, the sentences are very simple, no complex words, nothing unexpected. We can often understand something like, "it's time for lunch now" without understanding more usual sentences that contain names or terms. I, too, "passed" the hearing test for a CI--i.e., I hear "too well" for one even though even casual conversation can be challenging. I know that I guess about half of what I hear, and you can't turn that fine skill off during a hearing test! When the sentences are really simple, there are no distractions (sound or otherwise), in the isolation of a booth you can understand much better than you can in real life. Even in casual settings, someone suddenly introduces a new line of thought, and you struggle until you understand what the topic is.

joyces | @joyces | Feb 14, 2021

Re cost of aids: Check out Costco! Although their aids have different brand names, they are made by major manufacturers. My Bernefon Zerena cost $1,500; the same Oticon aid costs over $3,000 at hearing centers...as an Oticon. In addition, Costco doesn't charge for tests, adjustments, even minor parts, even after the warranty expires. They also sell packs of six cards of batteries for less than you'd pay for one pack at a drugstore: $8.99. Walgreen's sells the same batteries for $11.99 per single card...or almost $72 for six!

While some of the people who sell aids at Costco only meet minimum state requirements, many are extremely good. The person I see is NOT an audi, but has taken the time and effort to learn a great deal about what she sells, hearing problems and diseases. She actually knows more than either of the audis I saw at a hearing center that charges $300 per visit. So, if the Costco nearest you has a person who's marginal, try another Costco. The audi nearest me (40 miles) has degrees, but she cleaned the ears of a friend with high pressure water which resulted in vertigo, which made a fine excuse for the 94-year-old's son to fly here, sell her condo and car, and put her on a plane to his home across the country. She lost a lifetime's possessions and treasures, as he only allowed her to take what they could take on the plane. This audi runs large ads in all the local papers. I drive 55 miles to the nearest Costco for far better treatment.