Bi-cross hearing aid and other solutions for one-sided hearing loss?

[davidm2015]

Hi!

BACKGROUND: I had suboccipital / retrosigmoid approach for removal of a medium size AN in 1996. I had a good outcome overall. Only persistent adverse effects were (a) unilateral hearing loss, (b) some balance deficit, and (c) tinnitus.

COPING: I adapted to the one-sided hearing loss by just compensating for it in life's various situations (meetings, conversations, group settings, etc.). I maintained suitable balance by continually challenging my brain's balance detection systems through various exercises and lots of hiking and walking. The tinnitus -- which was at times quite loud -- was addressed by habituation training; though the tinnitus is continuous, I don't notice it unless I'm putting my attention on it, as I am at the moment <g>!

CAREER: After the AN surgery in 1996, life went on. I completed my master's degree (linguistics) and Ph.D. (education) in the following years and continued to work in my career in higher education as an instructor and administrator for another 25 years or so until I "retired."

QUESTION FOR TODAY: With age, my non-AN ear's hearing has gradually declined. So I'm thinking of hearing aid. The bi-cross is one solution. It would not provide "directional location" but would remove the "sound shadow" on the AN-side (my right). However, I've been advised that the bi-cross solution doesn't work for everyone. Some people find it doesn't help much or at all. Some find it actually bothersome. That seems to be the case especially for people, like me, who have long adapted to one-sided hearing loss. Naturally, I don't want to pay for two hearing aids if one will do. So ... does anyone have experience in this area or tips or advice they could share?

With appreciation in advance -- David

[UkulelesAreAwesome]

David, I had gamma knife for a left sided AN and lost all hearing in that ear. My right ear also requires a hearing aid and I've been told the hearing loss in that ear is moderate/mildly severe. I wear just one hearing aid and I don't see a reason to buy anything else other than that. I've adapted to the hearing loss. My hearing aid is about 6 years old and still working for me.

[drrocoin]

Greetings,

I had my surgery in May 2022 and bought bicross hearing aids on the rec of my surgeon. I rarely, if ever, wear them now. Mostly a waste of money.

I am completely deaf on left with horrific tinnitus.

Robert Cooney, MD

[davidm2015]

drrocoin -- Thank you for your reply. It will definitely help me make a decision.

I have tinnitus that was pretty bad at first. Early on (so decades ago) there was a period where I had "gaze-evoked tinnitus." I could make the tinnitus change by moving my eyes. And occasionally the sound would be like having a vacuum cleaner going in the room -- loud in other words. Over time it became a relatively unchanging and milder sound that I tune out 90% of the time through the habituation approach. I hope your tinnitus is manageable, too.

(I've occasionally had a dream of silence -- most magical.)

Best,
David

[davidm2015]

UkulelesAreAwesome

Thanks for your information -- helpful to know.

That fits what I've heard from an audiologist recently. Some people with Single-Sided Deafness (SSD) either don't find the bi-cross useful or in some cases, a person might even find it bothersome.

In my case the bi-cross might at most reduce the "head shadow" lack of sound input on the right side -- but I've adapted to that successfully over decades of time.

Main problem situations: I'm driving and have to strain to hear people to my right; conferences or meetings where someone tries to whisper or speak softly into right ear -- the latter has actually led to some amusing situations.

Thanks again -- David

[bfoley]

Greetings David -

SSD on right side as well.  My tinnitus was bothersome at first and after Gamma - but post translabyrinthine removal, was lesser in volume.  Not everyone is as lucky.  I never had evoke gazed tinnitus.

Without HA you can hear the drive thru folks but not your passengers!  But I do have a cross system which helps.  Its not perfect and noisy environments are no treat. I have a setting on mine which can filter out a bit of the background noise which can make it tolerable for a bit longer. Its the Starkey livio edge ai.  I wear mine for 8-14 hours now, where as the hearing aids I had before I barely wore every 2-3 days for a few hours.

Some places offer a trial period of 2-4 weeks. If there is a nearby place that offers a trial period, you might want to try it for yourself to determine if it is a fit for you.  We are all different with different day to day activities so it may or may not be helpful.

Take care!

[donjehle]

My AN ear is my left ear, so I can hear the passengers in my car, but I cannot hear the person at the drive-through window unless I wear my bicross hearing aids.  As Bonnie said, they are not perfect, but they have helped me enough that I continue to wear them.  The bicross hearing aids will not be like your regular hearing, but the question is, will they give you enough hearing assistance that they are worth the expense.  For me, that answer is yes -- but then my work involves hearing what others are saying, usually in a fairly quiet setting.  I am not usually in noisy environments which are much more difficult for me, even with the setting on my cross system for noisy environments.

As Bonnie said, you might want to take advantage of the trial period.  And, if you have issues with it, you can speak with your audiologist about adjusting the settings of the hearing aids.  And then, if they still don't work, return them during the free trial period at no cost to you.

Best wishes!
Don

[carriekartman]

I am SSD from my AN and have tried 4 different sets of Bi-Cros hearing aids with little to no benefit, and returned all of them. (I also tried the Adhear and an Oticon mini on a softband-- no luck with either, so have suspended my attempts at a BAHA for the time being.) It's interesting to read the other responses here, as I thought I was an outlier at not liking the BiCros. I also have tinnitus that's no walk in the park. Does anyone here have info on the latest, greatest Phonak "Infinio Sphere?" The literature and one review claim it has improved capability to reduce background noise so you can hear the person speaking. This would change my life if it actually works. It only came out in August 2024, and the last time I saw an audiologist was the month prior. I look forward to hearing (haha!) other's experiences and ideas.

[DanFouratt]

I am learning to live with SSD (left ear).  This past week my sister was in town SSD (Right ear) and my BIL poor hearing both ears.  We had a great time laughing as each person took their assign space so we could all hear.  My wife, no hearing problems, laughed the most.  The one hearing improvement I have looked in to was the Cochlear implant as it is reported to help Tinnitus.