My 16 year old grandson was born deaf in one ear, but has very good hearing in his other ear. We are considering CROS devices for him now. I am having trouble finding RECENT reviews and good information on what performance features to look for in the latest CROS devices (all discussions seem to be 4 or 5 years old). Can anyone point me to relevant recent information or discussions?
Also, do the newest CROS systems “process” the sound in any way (e.g., mask background noise) for either the bad or the good ear; or does it just transmit the sound as is to the good side?
I have had Phonak CROS hearing aids since day one. They are certainly better than having nothing on the deaf side. After you wear them awhile your brain becomes trained to think it is really hearing sounds from the CROS side. I can highly recommend them to anyone with un-aidable loss on one side.
A CROS device does more than just transmit sound, it can be programmed as well, but not to the same level as a fully functioning HA. Can recommend from experience. I have current Phonak P90-RT & CROS-PR.
Have attached these which I found while researching. Hope they help. Note Starkey, Signia and other brands all have solutions to be explored. A good, independent Audi would be best to guide you for personal choice.
Is the “sound processing” performed only on the sound coming from the “bad” side; or is sound from the “good” side also "processed? I.e., is the micophone on the “good” side hearing aid turned on even if one has no hearing loss on that side, so as to benefit from speech recognition enhancement features?
I’m on my second set of Phonak cros aids. Neither ear is great but my right is so bad amplification is useless. The sounds from the cros in my bad ear (R) are transmitted to the hearing aid in my good ear (L). So I hear both sides in my good ear.
Being one eared is hard. You have to turn your head to hear sounds from the bad side. I used to have to try to position myself at tables to hear the most people. It was also a problem in cars, which meant I couldn’t follow conversations when I drove.
I would think your grandson would benefit from a cros.
I think it is a hard technology to get your head around. Why wear a hearing aid in your good ear? It’s a pretty sensible question given the cost.
I think the best thing to do is try them. And try more than one brand if possible.
I notice young people are often less bothered about wearing aids, perhaps because audio streaming ear buds are so popular and common. I love what mine do for me as they double as wireless headphones.
Just FYI, my grandson’s audiologist fitted him with level 30 Phonak Paradise CROS with size 13 batteries. He says he could hear a lot better straight away. The audiologist said the rechareable version of the Phonak CROS just don’t seem to last long enough between chargings (especially for someone who does a lot of music streaming); and that the higher levels (50, 70, 90) do too much processing, actually interfering with hearing, for someone with perfect hearing in one ear and no hearing at all in the other. Grandson says he got a full 5 days from his first set of batteries.
