One regular hearing aid plus Bi-CROS hearing aids for acoustic neuroma?

Hearing Aids
#1

I posted about this a few years ago, but I was wondering if anyone new here had any insight. I have an acoustic neuroma in my left ear. It was treated with Gamma Knife 7 years ago, and I was lucky to have been left with some aidable hearing in that ear. However, my hearing in that ear is very weak and distorted.

My right ear, which used to be my worse ear, is now, by far, my better ear. At least there is no distortion in my right ear, although I have a very significant loss in that ear too.

The distortion in my bad ear affects my speech comprehension, especially in noise, and my hearing of music. As a musician, this has greatly impacted my semi-professional career. While I am performing, music at any significant volume from another instrument on stage coming into my bad ear sounds like an atonal roar. I am often unable to recognize a well-known song that is playing as recorded background music at a restaurant.

A few years ago, I trialed Bi-CROS HAs, and I remember liking them. But my audi recommended against me wearing them because my bad ear wouldn’t be getting enough auditory stimulation, and my “brain hearing” could deteriorate.

I am considering buying new HAs, and I am wondering if it would be possible/advisable to try using a regular HA in my bad ear IN ADDITION to a pair of Bi-CROS HAs. I would use some kind of tape to secure the regular HA on my bad side to the Bi-CROS microphone HA on the same bad side. I would, of course, use the Bi-CROS receiving HA on my good side.

The idea would be that, by default, I would be getting audio stimulation to my bad ear in most situations; but when I was performing music or in a challenging listening environment, I could reduce the volume on the regular HA on my bad side and use just the Bi-CROS (maybe with a bump up in volume). Hopefully that would give me increased clarity when I needed it, and the auditory stimulation to my bad ear otherwise. Is this worth a try?

Sorry for the long post, but I thought it was necessary to explain my unusual situation.

#2

What are you trying to maintain stimulation in the left ear FOR. Are you still possibly a CI candidate, or does the AN/gamma knife make you not a candidate? Do you feel that you still benefit from that ear?

I’ve set up what you suggest once before. These days you can only get CROS devices in RICs unless you’re looking at the Signia Silk CROS, so the easiest thing would probably be to get a custom hearing aid for the left ear along with a RIC cross for the left ear which connects to a RIC hearing aid on the right ear. You’ll lose binaural streaming options (phone would only be streamed to the right ear), but if the left is distorted anyway this may not matter.

A CROS is good for giving you access to your bad side, but it’s not always great in a noisy situation. If you have a sonova device, you might also consider connecting a Roger Device to your right hearing aid for noise situations.

#3

I’m not in the same ballpark as you, but I do have significant distortion in my left ear.
I’m tone deaf I think.
Music is noise.
Some stuff I can make out.
The organ in church sounds out of time to me.
The wife says it sounds ok to her.
Pianos sound ok.
If sound come in my left ear it is distorted.
Right ear ok.
Straight at my face ok.
I do need, at least to me, louder volume in the left to overcome the distortion.
The worst is my own voice.
Always distorted.
It takes a few minutes to adjust when I first put in the aids, everyday.
Audiologist look at me durmb founded
when I tell them.
It is what it is.
I live with it.

1 Like
#4

Thank you for your response, @Neville. Currently, when I put on my left (bad-side) HA while leaving the right (bad-side) ear unaided, there is a significant improvement over totally unaided hearing.

Similarly, if I have my right HA in, and then I add the left (bad-side) HA, there is a significant improvement.

You say Bi-CROS is not always great in noisy situations. The question is whether, even if not great, would Bi-CROS be a significant improvement over what I have now? I guess the only way to find out would be to try it.

The phone streaming is kind of a big deal because my comprehension is definitely better with streaming to both ears.

I don’t think I’m ready for a CI st this point, although my ENT said I might benefit from a CI at some point as I age.

What was your patient’s experience with the set-up that you constructed for them? I’d be very interested to hear any details, and to find out how their situation compared to mine.

#5

@freezerman404, what you describe doesn’t sound like typical sensori-neural hearing loss. Have you seen an ENT to rule out an acoustic neuroma or Ménière’s disease?

#6

No one is really interested.
Had my latest ENT
tell me I could get an MRI if I wanted.
I told him I didn’t think they would find anything. He agreed.

#7

One ENT said it was nerve damage.
I tend to agree
I was stupid for years.
Worked around loud compressor.
Used loud drills, saws, etc.
No ear protection.

#8

I’d say if your insurance will cover it, and you can easily afford the co-pay, go ahead and get the MRI. When my audi recommended an MRI for me, I thought, “I don’t have a damn BRAIN TUMOR”. I was wrong, and I’m glad it was discovered before it grew even bigger.

#9

Fwiw I’ve tested hundreds of noise induced industrial losses (used to do weekly) medico-legal work.

None of them looked like that: it could be non-organic, but that’s really unlikely. Do you have any bone conduction values ?

#10

Bone conduction test are always good.
Two Audis said they was someone wrong with my left ear.
One said it wasn’t conductive.
The other ones picked it up by the word recognition test.
She was the only one to use an automated tape voice.
Maybe I’ll get the MRI for elimination purposes.

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#11

He was happy enough to keep the set up in the short term. Unfortunately he then moved away fairly soon after, so I have no long term follow-up.

Do you mean to say that this is a conductive hearing loss? Your bone conduction thresholds are normal?

#12

My loss is not conductive.
I use Aftershokz earphones. I hear fine. Distortion is still there. Distortion is there hearing aids or not
No one ever said what type of loss I have.
Reading the site I summarized that I have sensorineural
hearing loss.
No real information is volunteered.
If I ask I usually can get an answer.

#13

You using aftershoz makes it seem conductive. :crazy_face:

I’ve had patients whose middle ear dysfunction causes distortion that resolves after surgery, which is why I ask. But if it’s not conductive then that is not helpful.

#14

I’ve seen twelve audiologist in seven years.
Not one of them said my loss was conductive.
I also use over the ear headphones without my aids in and I hear fine.
The sound is muffled but I still can hear it.