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Rehabilitation for Single-Sided Hearing Loss

Patients with hearing loss in one ear may benefit from a hearing aid on that side. People who have complete hearing loss on one side (single-sided or unilateral deafness) will still be able to communicate in most situations. They will, however, have difficulty listening to conversation from the involved side, understanding speech in background noise, and telling where sounds are coming from.

There are a number of options for patients with this type of hearing loss. All of these options involve sending the sound to the other, good ear. One of the options is a surgical implant that delivers the sound directly to the bone behind the involved ear. Sound delivered to bone passes across the head to the other side. The other option uses a set of hearing aids that are connected by a wireless link. These options are compared in the Table below. Feel free to ask your surgeon or audiologist to discuss these options with you.

	Baha (BP 100 or BP110/ Power BP3)	Phonak Spice CROS/BICROS
Surgery
Implant lies under the skin	No	Non-surgical hearing aids
Hair follicles need to be removed	Yes	N/A
Healing time before use	~3 months (adults); 6 months (peds)	N/A
Device
Sound processing	Digital	Digital
Programs (settings for different listening environments)	3	Depends on model of receiving aid on better ear Range: (3, 4, or 5 manual programs)
Battery size & expected life	BP100 – size 13 (7-10 days) BP110 - 675 (7-10 days)	3 days to 1 week (depends on the model)
Colors	Black, brown, silver, beige, charcoal and white	Black, brown, silver, gray, beige, taupe and blue
FM compatibility (allows user to connect to an external microphone)	Yes	Yes. (may need additional accessories)
Other Health Considerations
Risk of infection	Need minimal daily care around the implant	N/A
Future MRIs	ok without processor	N/A
Costs
Approximate Price	Up to $35,000	Transmitter: $790 Receiver: Range ($1600, $2300 or $3300)
Warranty	2 yr. repair and 1x L&D	2 yr. repair and 1x L&D
Refund available?	Yes, processors can be exchanged within 90 days after fit date and returned 30 days after the fit date. Registration card must be sent in at fit date.	30 day return privilege
Life of internal and external component	Internal: lifetime External: 3-5 years	Life: 5-10 years

Rehabilitation for Single-Sided Hearing Loss

Otolaryngology

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