cros or bi-cros hearing aids

[Dawn from MN]

I currently wear bilateral hearing aids.  In March an audiologist suggested cros or bi-cros hearing aids.  I didn't really ask questions because I was still focused on the fact that potentially serious issues needed to be ruled out as the cause of my hearing loss. 

If you have the cros or bi-cros hearing aids, are these difficult to get used to?  I have lost all hearing in the left ear, but the right ear functions with a hearing aid.

[donjehle]

Hi Dawn!

I use a CROS system because the hearing in my right ear is normal.  If you need hearing assistance in your non-AN ear, then you would probably need a Bi-CROS system, the difference being that the Bi-CROS system provides amplification to the non-AN ear whereas the CROS system does not.

I have read that some people struggled to get used to them.  That was not my case at all.  I put them in my ears in the morning, and I don't take them out until I go to bed.  I did not have any problem getting adjusted to them.  The worst part of it for me was that my ears were not used to having anything in them and they itched badly.  But after a week or so, I finally got used to that.

I know of people who could not ever get adjusted to standard hearing aids.  They finally took them back to the audiologist (or put them up in a drawer) because they never felt comfortable wearing standard hearing aids.  Since you wear bilateral hearing aids, I don't think you would have any problem getting used to the Bi-CROS system.

The only complaint I have with my CROS system was their expense.  My insurance covered up to the first $3,400, and I had to pay a couple thousand more on top of that.  But they are worth every penny to me because I can hear with it.  Before I purchased them, I was afraid I would lose my job because I could not hear what people around me were saying.

And keep posting and asking questions!  (And, by the way, thanks for your cookbook recommendation -- I was not familiar with that one!)

[donjehle]

Dawn, I'm fairly confident that they will be willing to do the Gamma Knife for you.  What I'm less confident about is when they will do it.  They may want to do it right away, but sometimes certain ones like to wait six months and have you do another MRI so they can establish a rate of growth.  If it doesn't grow in six months, they may have less of an urgency to perform the GK.  If you want it done, you may need to push for it.

So, in terms of work, it is a little premature for them to be concerned about having someone know the list of procedures for what you do.  For me, my employer was going to send me paperwork requesting FMLA, and then at my consultation, I was told to wait another six months for another MRI before they would do anything.  And my MRI is actually scheduled for seven months since my last one (which will be next month).  And if there is not much growth of the AN, they will want me to wait another six months.  I have told my neurosurgeon that I don't care if it is growing or not, I want it treated with GK, but he won't do it until he feels like the tumor is growing enough.  And the only reason I share this with you is that it could be a while before you have anything done.  And then again, he may do it right away, but I don't want you to get your hopes up in case he chooses to wait six more months.

Best wishes!
Don