For children with single-sided deafness, current treatment options include a bone anchored hearing implant such as Baha or Ponto; a CROS system; and the use of a frequency modulation system in schools. Recent advances and successes in treating single-sided hearing loss include improvements to wireless CROS systems, better options for bone-anchored devices and consideration of cochlear implants, Garland said. However, several speakers in large rooms challenge the distinction between speech sounds. This is a common situation where we want our speech recognition capabilities to be the best, but they actually work the worst, especially with single-sided deafness. “Bone anchored hearing aids, as well as special hearing aids that allow contralateral routing of signals or sounds, can restore sound awareness in patients with single-sided hearing loss,” said Dr. Lalwani. Each of these [benefits] alone provides sufficient justification for implementation. There is now a small amount of literature that provides the first justification for further studies on the effects of cochlear implants in patients with single-sided hearing loss. If hearing is still present in the affected ear, unilateral hearing loss can often be treated with a normal hearing aid (hearing aids for single-sided deafness).
According to Snapp 2019, CROS technology solutions offer a non-invasive, aesthetic, and cost-effective option for people with single-sided deafness (SSD). The main advantages of a CROS hearing aid are better sound perception on the affected side and better hearing in noise when speech is on the impaired side. However, CROS solutions do not provide binaural hearing restoration and cannot enhance tasks that require binaural input, such as localization. [15] One way to treat single-sided hearing loss is to divert sounds from the wrong ear to the right ear. Signs and symptoms of single-sided deafness may include: Under calm conditions, speech discrimination in patients with partial deafness is no worse than normal hearing; [1] However, in noisy environments, language discrimination is almost always severe. [1] [2] Sudden hearing loss – rapid hearing loss that occurs with little or no warning, often after a viral infection – is another condition commonly associated with SSDs. Patients may experience sudden deafness as a result of inflammation of the cochlea, which permanently damages the hair cells responsible for hearing. Due to the so-called head shadow effect, higher frequency sounds with shorter wavelengths tend to be reflected by the head. Since consonants are higher frequency sounds that contain much of the sense of speech, the headshadow effect makes it difficult for people with single-sided deafness to understand speech in the presence of background noise.
Treatment options for unilateral hearing loss or single-sided deafness include: An illustration of spatial hearing abilities for (A) normal hearing and (B) unilateral deaf listeners. Normal hearing listeners locate target sounds accurately and accurately along the horizontal (azimuth) and vertical (elevation) planes. Monal hearing listeners, on the other hand, can locate target sounds primarily in the hemifield of the auditory ear, with limited power on the contralateral deaf side. Traditional ICR candidates have been shown to be an important predictor of hearing outcomes and benefits [72,73,74]. In particular, prolonged hearing loss is associated with poorer HF outcomes. The development of evidence on the influence of duration of hearing loss in unilaterally deaf adults suggests similar trends [75]. The provision of HF for children with SSD is particularly relevant. Hearing deprivation negatively affects HF outcomes, leading to global recognition of the importance of early intervention during critical phases of auditory development [76,77,78,79]. Diversion solutions have limited benefit in paediatric populations and, in most cases, can only be easily implemented after the age of five, when most of the hearing development has already occurred. Unlike re-routing, HF stimulates both auditory pathways. HFs can be an important and beneficial alternative that allows for early intervention by providing additional evidence during the critical phase of development and before hearing deprivation begins [77,79,80].
Emerging evidence suggests that the critical phase of the intervention may play an important role in the long-term outcomes and success of HF in children with SDH [76,77,78,79]. This is supported by animal models that highlight the negative consequences of unprocessed asymmetric hearing in auditory development and the ability to restore the binaural auditory system when electrical stimulation is combined with training procedures [81]. However, there are no systematic studies on this topic in the paediatric population. Current studies on DSS + HF vary in terms of onset of hearing loss, duration of deafness and age of implantation with variable performance outcomes. At present, the evidence needs to be extrapolated from studies of adults with SSD who are still developing. As an emerging treatment in the EHR population, longitudinal studies are lacking. It is important to note that in a study of 21 children with congenital DSS, Thomas et al. reported that among those with more than 3 years of follow-up, 3/5 children were impaired users or non-users of their HF [82]. This information becomes crucial for practical clinical decisions, cost-effective treatments, and patient/parent counseling. “However, for the majority of patients with single-sided deafness, there is a measurable disability.” In addition to a comprehensive audiological evaluation, assessment of single-sided hearing loss should include laboratory tests to rule out inflammatory or infectious causes, and MRI of the internal auditory canal and brain with the contrast agent gadolinium to rule out vestibular schwannoma, Anil K. said.
Lalwani, MD, Professor and Vice President of Research in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center. Many people have some degree of hearing loss in one or both ears. Unilateral hearing loss can affect your ability to participate in conversations and activities. Infants born with unilateral hearing loss or single-sided hearing loss may receive help from early speech and language therapies. Hearing specialists can determine the best treatments to help you hear better. Hearing aids can help. From a developmental point of view, it does not make sense to wait for solutions for children with single-sided deafness. The brain`s ability to hear to noise is absent at birth and develops during childhood when both ears give auditory input to the brain. It`s probably too early to say which patients with unilateral deafness cochlear implants would help.
As with other hearing loss in children, it is important to know and treat hearing loss in kindergarten and school, including teachers, other students and other parents. This makes it much easier to live with single-sided deafness or hearing loss in one ear. Yet many people with single-sided deafness try to do without the benefits of available devices, while others seek help because spatial hearing and speech recognition problems affect their quality of life. Severe unilateral hearing loss or deafness, SSD, makes listening comprehension very difficult. Since speech and background noise were displayed at the same level, people with single-sided deafness only listened to about 30-35% of the conversation. [6] A person with SSD needs to make more effort to communicate with others. [7] If a patient can only hear with one ear and there are few ways to compensate for the disability, for example, changing the listening position, group discussions and dynamic listening situations become difficult. People with profound unilateral hearing loss are often perceived as socially awkward due to constant attempts to maximize hearing, resulting in socially unique body language and mannerisms.
[8] If the unilateral hearing loss is severe or profound, it is often referred to as single-sided hearing loss (SSD) because there is virtually no hearing. Single-sided hearing loss is defined as hearing loss with normal or near-normal hearing in one ear (“the good ear”) and severe to profound hearing loss in the other. If the unilateral hearing loss is severe or profound, the person hearing more or less only with one ear (monoaural hearing). Single-sided deafness can also be called single-sided deafness. Single-sided hearing loss (SSD), sometimes called single-sided hearing loss, is a condition in which a person experiences hearing loss in one ear but can usually hear in the other ear. While the majority of hearing-impaired patients suffer from bilateral (bilateral) hearing loss, approximately 60,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with SSD each year. When treating single-sided hearing loss, it is important for your audiologist to discuss the cause of the hearing and, most importantly, how long the hearing lasts. You use a microphone located near the impaired ear and an amplifier near the normal ear.
