Hearing with One Ear

People are slowly beginning to realize that hearing loss does not necessarily affect both ears. At present, 60,000 people in America have a form of hearing loss known as Single Sided Deafness (SSD), which means that they suffer from a significant hearing impairment in one of their ears.

Overall, having SSD may not appear to be that significant a problem since the other ear is supposedly working perfectly well, but those with SSD have significant problems when it comes to distinguishing important sounds from background noises. Furthermore, they also have trouble locating the source of the sounds since they are unable to hear from one of their ears. SSD can cause significant impairments at home and also in the workplace. Research suggests that 24% of those suffering from SSD needed to quit their job as a result of their hearing impairment while others were found to have a sense of social withdrawal and seclusion.

Thankfully, there is hope for those with SSD. A particular type of hearing instrument, known as the Contralateral Routing of Offside Signals (or CROS) can help transfer sounds wirelessly to the ear that is functioning properly using a transmitter that is located behind the ear that has hearing impairment. This hearing aid is discreet and does not require any sort of invasive procedures to help install them. CROS can help enhance your communicative abilities and your sense of hearing to make sure you make the most out of your hearing experience.