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If you have been diagnosed with a conductive hearing loss (based in the outer or middle ear), getting a hearing aid isn't so straightforward. For people with a typical sensorineural (inner ear) loss, a regular hearing aid usually does the job. But a conductive loss means that there is something in the outer or middle ears that makes it physically impossible for sound to transmit into the inner ear -- and it may even involve a block that makes using a regular aid difficult. With a conductive loss, you have the option of a bone-conduction hearing aid, a bone-anchored implant, or a contralateral routing of signal (CROS) aid. Depending on your situation, one of these is likely better for you than the others.
Bone-Conduction Hearing Aid
These are two-part affairs, with a hearing aid that sits behind your ear and a conductor that's pressed against your head, often with a tight headband. These are better if you're dealing with a temporary issue that will be resolved because they are removable, of course; you don't want to surgically install an implant if you're about to have surgery to fix the problem causing the conductive loss, for example. But they're difficult to use long-term. The conductor pressure can be so intense that it causes pain. These aids are also not that effective, so if you have a fairly severe loss, they aren't likely to transmit as much amplification as you need. So for the short-term, these will work, but if you're dealing with a permanent loss, they might not be optimal.
CROS
This is an ingenious setup for people with unilateral hearing loss (one ear can still hear). You have hearing aids --regular ones -- in both ears, and the sound that the aid in your bad ear picks up is sent to the aid in your good ear. The transmission usually is sent through a headband. If you don't mind the cosmetic aspect and are dealing with one ear that is better than the other, CROS could work. Do keep in mind that this means you'll still have to wear hearing aids in both ears regardless of hearing level. CROS will not work if you can't wear a hearing aid in your bad ear; for example, if you have skin problems or have had trauma that closed off your ear canal, you wouldn't be able to use CROS.
Bone-Anchored Implant
This is a conductive version of the cochlear implant. The conductor is implanted into your skull behind your ear, and a small sound processor is plugged into the implant. The advantages are that the sound quality is a lot better, and you don't have to wear headbands. However, you do have to protect the processor in rainy weather, and the implant has to be carefully placed if you still want to wear hats or have to wear glasses. Plus, there is that not-so-little issue of surgery. The implant is not a good idea if you want to avoid an operation.
If you have other questions about how to deal with a conductive hearing loss and bone-based hearing assistance, talk to an audiologist who dispenses and fits hearing aids. He or she can help you figure out which route would be best for you. Contact a business, such as the County Hearing And Balance, for more information.
Share7 June 2016
