cros considerations

[sarapanman]

I am just over 1 year post surgery of an almost 4cm an. I underwent radiation and still have a very large (close to 3 cm) an as they could not get it all out safely. That being said, I am looking at the cros type devices. I have 99% hearing loss in my effected ear and because I am required to have MRI's every 3-6 months and hopefully annually at some point, I am not a candidate for any surgical or metal type procedures. My audiologist has recommended this option to me but my ENT has me a bit worried about the effectiveness of it. Can anyone give me some insight as to their current experience with cros type devices and which ones have been effective for you. Thanks. Im pretty clueless. Im only 30 years old and have two kids. Loosing my hearing has had a dramatic effect on my quality of life.

[alabamajane]

Hi and welcome,
I can't address your question about the Cros devices as I have not used them. However, I am curious as to why you were told that was your only option...

I had my AN removed in 2011 and am SSD (single side deaf) as a result. I have just decided to look into the BAHA (bone anchored hearing device) for a solution to the deafness which is hard to deal with at times.. I spoke with my ENT surgeon this past week and have set up an appointment for Nov. 7 for the surgery to implant the screw. I also have to have an MRI annually and this titanium screw will not cause any problems. So I find it difficult to believe that this type of device was not an option for you unless there is some other reason. I am not a doctor mind you.....
 Cochlear and Oticon medical are two companies that make them. Cochlear makes a magnet connect option that was not suitable for me due to the MRIs but plenty of people have the "screw" type and do fine with MRIs,, just some thoughts for what it's worth.. The Cros was presented to me as an option also, but I do not think I would be happy with device in my "good" ear...

Let us know what you find out. I am sure others will respond with their experiences,,, best of luck,,
Jane

[Echo]

Hi Sarapanman,

I am one year post GK treatment and I have been using the Phonak BiCros since March of this year.  I absolutely love the product. I am fortunate in the fact that I am not completely deaf in my AN ear.  I hear sounds but not clearly and my level of hearing is not great.  My word recognition had dropped to 20% pre Gamma Knife and on my one year anniversary, my word recognition had improved to 40%.  The hearing in my good ear is not 100% as I miss a lot of the higher tones.  The Phonak allows me to hear people speaking to me clearly and has been a huge help at work.  I'm no longer walking around saying "Sorry, I can't hear you".  I still find hearing in restaurants or very loud places to be challenging, but that seems to be the norm with hearing aids as they amplify all sounds.  Phonak can be programmed for different hearing situations and I use the programs frequently.  It only took me about a week to adjust to wearing them and in my case the benefit was immediate, so it made the transition easy.

If you do a search at the top of this section for Phonak BiCros you will find many previous posts.

Cathie.

[leapyrtwins]

I am required to have MRI's every 3-6 months and hopefully annually at some point, I am not a candidate for any surgical or metal type procedures.

You should be a candidate for a BAHA implant - not the newer type (with magnets under the skin like a Cochlear Implant) but the "older" type that doesn't use magnets.

I had my BAHA implant 9 months after my AN surgery and my doc's protocol is to have patients get annual MRIs for the first 5 years post op and then, if no regrowth has occurred, 5 years after that.

Since I have had my implant I've had 5 MRIs and in 3 more years I will have another.

BAHA implants are made of titanium and you can have MRIs with them.

You may or may not decide that a BAHA is for you - I personally love mine, but some people are opposed to an implant in their skull - but you owe it to yourself to look into it.

Just my opinion,

Jan

[Helena14]

Hello 
I had in infection when I was three that caused me to lose nearly all my right ear hearing. I'm looking for some device that could help me deal with my SSD.
My two options are baha or phonak cros - I'm not considering the soundbite because in my country they still don't sell it, and it would be a huge problem to have assistance and such.
I've been using the phonak cros for a couple of weeks on trial, I'm overall happy with it. It does help in many not-too-loud environments and I don't have to crane my neck to hear people on my deaf side as often as before.
However, I'm not 100% sure I'm going to buy it. It has some limitations. I don't always manage to make out all the words spoken to me on my deaf side, the sounds are just nor clear enough. That doesn't happen very often, but it does happen when there's a noisy background.
I still don't feel entirely okay with having something in my good ear, it's not like it makes it harder to hear, but it just doen't feel right - maybe that's just me still shy about wearing hearing aids...

If anyone has been wearing phonak cros for longer, does it get better? After a month or two, will it improve more or that's all I can get? Also, in noisy environments would the baha be better? In restaurants and such I end up so annoyed that I just take the cros off and cope by lip reading on my deaf side.