What is unilateral hearing loss?
5 min.
Publication Date: 23 November 2020
Have you got hearing loss? Does one ear hear better than the other? You may have Unilateral Hearing Loss (UHL).
Unilateral hearing loss (UHL) means that hearing is normal in one ear but there is hearing loss in the other ear.
What can cause sudden unilateral hearing loss?
- Infections.
- Head trauma.
- Autoimmune diseases.
- Exposure to certain drugs that treat cancer or severe infections.
- Blood circulation problems.
- Neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis.
- Disorders of the inner ear, such as Ménière's disease.
If you have unilateral hearing loss you should seek professional advice from an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist and have your hearing tested by a professional audiologist.
What are CROS* and BiCROS* systems? How do they work?
For patients with single-sided hearing and unequal loss, we offer CROS and BiCROS hearing solutions in both Receiver-In-Canal (RIC) and Behind-The-Ear (BTE) styles.A CROS system consists of a single microphone and single receiver contained in two individual devices. The ear with little-to-no functional hearing is fit with the microphone-equipped device, and the ear with normal hearing is fitted with the receiver-equipped device.Sound arriving at the ear with no functional hearing transmits through a wireless connection to the receiver-equipped device to help patients hear sounds from their non-hearing side to their normal-hearing side.A BiCROS system consists of a microphone-equipped device that is fitted to the poorer-hearing ear and a conventional hearing aid fitted to the better-hearing ear that has some hearing loss.
Who should consider a CROS or BiCROS solution?
A CROS system is appropriate for a patient with a single-sided hearing loss where the loss is such that little-to-no benefit can be provided through amplification for the poorer-hearing ear. Patients with normal hearing or a mild high-frequency loss in their better-hearing ear can benefit from a CROS system.A BiCROS system can help patients with unequal bilateral hearing loss In such cases, the poorer-hearing ear has no functional hearing and would not benefit from amplification, while the better-hearing ear (the ear with less hearing loss) requires a traditional hearing aid. In this case, the BiCROS hearing aid will transmit audio from the poorer ear to be mixed with the amplification for the better ear.* CROS - 'Contralateral Routing of Signal'
* BiCROS - 'Bilateral Microphones with Contralateral Routing of Signal'Contact a local Triton Office today, have a FREE Hearing assessment, and discuss with our specialists the right solution for your unilateral hearing loss.