Can a CROS or BICROS hearing aid work like a normal aid?

From Google’s AI Overview for the following query, but I’ll let the audiologist experts chime in here too if there are any inaccuracies:

Query: can a cros hearing aid function as a normal hearing aid?

No, a CROS (Contralateral Routing of Signal) hearing aid cannot function as a normal hearing aid. CROS systems are designed for individuals with single-sided hearing loss, where one ear has no usable hearing and the other ear has normal or aidable hearing. The CROS system transmits sound from the impaired ear to the better ear, effectively bypassing the impaired ear’s hearing limitations.

Here’s why a CROS system is different from a normal hearing aid:

Purpose:
CROS systems are specifically for single-sided deafness or unaidable unilateral hearing loss (UHL), where conventional amplification provides no benefit in one ear. Normal hearing aids are used for a variety of hearing losses, including those that affect both ears.

Mechanism:
CROS systems utilize a transmitter in the impaired ear to capture sound, which is then wirelessly transmitted to a receiver in the better-hearing ear. Normal hearing aids amplify sound within the ear they are worn in.

Benefits:
While CROS systems offer some benefits, including improved sound awareness and better hearing in noise on the impaired side, they cannot replace the experience of binaural hearing. They do not provide the same level of localization or directional hearing as a normal hearing aid.

BiCROS systems:
If the better ear also has hearing loss, a BiCROS (Bilateral Contralateral Routing of Signal) system can be used. This system includes a CROS transmitter on the impaired ear and a conventional hearing aid on the better-hearing ear to provide amplification.

I have Starkey BiCROS. No, it cannot be use as a normal hearing aid. The receiver is a dummy, just there so you can put it in your ear to keep it from falling off. Even if you put a real receiver on it, no sound would come out. The CROS transmitter only transmits sound to the other hearing aid, it doesn’t produce sound on its own.

Here’s where AI doesn’t tell you the whole picture. The response is generally correct however:

Widex used to (might still) make aids that were switchable into and out of different CROS configurations. Meaning that either/both could be used bilaterally or as a R/L CROS system.

In the case of the purchase above. The function of the one aid is still perfectly valid.

Thanks, that’s what I was afraid of. I connected them to Inspire and, yeah, the CROS aid cannot be programmed.