The clinical application of CROS. A hearing aid for unilateral deafness.

Abstract

PERSONS with a unilateral hearing loss often experience difficulty in communicating. Until recently, there was no remedial help available for such individuals if surgical and medical procedures were contraindicated and if the poor ear was unaidable. The purpose of this article is to present clinical evidence that a specially designed hearing aid can improve the communication of many one-eared listeners. The patient with a hearing loss in one ear, and with normal or nearly normal hearing in the opposite ear, frequently expresses communicative difficulty in some daily life activities. The magnitude and extent of his complaints are closely related to his station in life and the communicative demands on his hearing. Consequently, not all unilaterals complain of listening problems. Those who do, however, typically report difficulty: (1) when listening to speech originating on the side of the bad ear; (2) when communicating in a noisy environment; and (3) when attempting