# Single Side Deafness: Cochlear Implant or CROS Hearing Aid?

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 [ Science Update ](https://hearbetter.medel.com/en-int/study/category/science-update-en-int/) 

#  Single Side Deafness: Cochlear Implant or CROS Hearing Aid? 

 

 ## **SCIENCE UPDATE**

*New scientific studies summarized for you*

### **SINGLE SIDED DEAFNESS: COCHLEAR IMPLANT OR CROS HEARING AID?**

(Original paper: Speech Perception in Noise and Sound Localization for Cochlear Implant with Single-sided Deafness Compared with Contralateral Routing of Signal Hearing Aids. Otol Neurotol 2023. Oyamada S et al.)

### **Take-home message:**

Patients with single-sided deafness (SSD) using a cochlear implant (CI) have significantly better speech understanding in noise and sound localisation than single-sided patients using CROS hearing aids. This can be explained by the binaural auditory benefits the CI delivers which additionally enhance SSD patients’ quality of life.

### **Background:**

Patients with SSD often face difficulties in understanding speech in noise or localising sound because they are lacking the binaural auditory input. This is a confounding factor for their quality of life.

The study compares the effectiveness for SSD patients treated with a cochlear implant and a CROS hearing aid respectively in these two challenging fields.

### **Method:**

- Retrospective study with 87 SSD patients.
- 33 patients chose a CROS hearing aid for treatment
- 17 patients chose a CI for treatment
- 37 patients decided not to have their hearing loss treated
- Speech perception tests in noise was tested in a free field before and after intervention
- Sound localisation was tested in a semianechoic chamber with 9 loudspeakers in front of study participants, presented to better ear, before and after intervention
- Subjective assessment questionnaires on hearing handicap (HHIA), hearing device benefit (APHAB) and functional health and well-being (SF-36v2 Health Survey)

### **Results**

- Before the intervention no significant differences between the three groups (CI, CROS, untreated) were observed in speech understanding in noise and sound localisation.
- After the intervention the CI group showed significant localization improvements compared to baseline and in comparison with the CROS and untreated patient cohorts.
- 12 months after the intervention speech understanding in noise improved significantly for the CI group, while the CROS cohort did not show any improvements.
- The CI group reported significant improvements in terms of their functional health and well-being, contrary to the CROS and untreated groups.
- A CI can alleviate tinnitus in the deaf ear significantly, adding to the improvements in subjective quality of life.

Read the study here: [Speech Perception in Noise and Sound Localization for Cochlear Implant With Single-Sided Deafness Compared With Contralateral Routing of Signal Hearing Aids – PubMed (nih.gov)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36946362/)

 

 

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