A Comparison Between Wireless CROS and Bone-anchored Hearing Devices for Single-Sided Deafness: A Pilot Study

People with single-sided deafness (SSD) have significant hearing loss in one ear and normal or near normal hearing in the other ear. Those living with SSD experience several communication difficulties, particularly when listening to speech in the presence of background noise. This problem is worse in situations where the noise is on the side of the good ear and the speech is on the side of the poor ear. The Bone-anchored hearing device (BAHD) and the Contralateral Routing of Signals (CROS) hearing aid are two intervention methods designed to improve hearing in people who have significant hearing loss in one ear only. The BAHD is a surgically implanted device which also includes an external processor; sounds from the poor ear are transmitted to the good ear through skull vibrations. The CROS does not involve surgery; instead a hearing aid is fitted behind each ear, and the sounds on the side of the poor ear are wirelessly transmitted to the good ear. The majority of previous studies comparing the BAHD to the CROS have used older CROS models with basic technology and a wire along the neck to send sounds from the poor ear to the good ear. There is a lack of studies comparing newer digital wireless CROS hearing aids to the BAHD. The current research will compare the effect of the BAHD and CROS hearing aid on speech perception scores when listening to speech in quiet and in noise. The research will also investigate participants' reported benefits with each device during everyday situations. In order to compare the BAHD and CROS, individuals who already have been implanted with a BAHD will be given a trial period with a new wireless digital CROS hearing aid. The research hypothesis states that the CROS hearing aid will be as equally beneficial or greater than the BAHD in improving hearing and participant benefit. If the findings support the hypothesis that the CROS offers just as much benefits as the BAHD, or is an even better alternative, more individuals with SSD may choose to avoid surgery and decide to receive a CROS hearing aid instead.