Living with unilateral (one-sided) hearing loss or single-sided deafness (SSD) can be frustrating. Whether you're constantly asking others to speak into your "good ear" or struggling to differentiate sounds in a crowded environment, one-sided hearing means missing out on things that matter. Enter: CROS hearing aids. 

Short for contralateral routing of signals, CROS hearing aids capture and transmit the sound from your "bad" ear and reroute it to the other side. This allows you to hear all the sounds around you, regardless of which direction they're coming from. If you also have hearing impairment in your other ear, a bilateral solution can be found in BiCROS hearing aids.

When sound travels to an ear that's not working properly, it's like heading down a dead end street. There's nowhere for the sound to be properly processed. It's also not possible for the sound to bend around your head to get to the other one. This is referred to as the head shadow effect. So, if these two options are off the table, what's the solution? With CROS hearing aids, a microphone and a transmitter in your non-hearing ear work together to capture sound and wirelessly transmit it to the hearing aid in your hearing ear. That means you're hearing sounds all around you, not just from one particular side.

There are two scenarios for which CROS hearing aids are suitable. If you have severe to profound hearing loss in one ear and the other functions well, you're a great candidate. BiCROS are also a great option if you have significant hearing loss in one ear and mild to moderate hearing loss in the other. Your Hearing Care Professional can help you determine which option is suitable for you.

From social aspects to safety concerns, there are plenty of advantages to hearing the sounds around you. CROS benefits include:

While the benefits of hearing sounds from all directions most certainly add value to your life and improve your safety, there can be downsides to the use of contralateral routing of signals. These include: