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Hearing Aid for sensorineural Single Sided Hearing Loss (SSHL), Unilateral Hearing Loss (UHL)

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Hi All, Hoping someone in this Forum can advise.

Suffered sudden SSHL/ in left ear over 10 years ago; in late 30s. The loss is sensorineural, not conductive; up to Severe loss (80db+) level. As per my past posts in this Forum, top-tier options do not work sufficiently for me to be useful; and in more recently post confirmed single-sided option is not available for me since I live in Japan. (FYI, sound like great option to look into, if it’s available to you!)

Q: If I constantly input sound into my severe-hearing loss (but not deaf) left ear using an appropriately programmed Hearing Aid, over time (assume years), could the plasticity of the brain allow to adjust & “recognize” the sounds by utilizing the limited cochlear hair cells and hearing neural paths that are still “active” and sending signals?

Seems hearing brain adapts and make sense of the weird sounds from CI over time. My right ear hears totally fine, so one hemisphere of my brain is already totally tuned to recognize & process all & any signal reaching it. Maybe brain would re-wired & piggy-back on that active side?

If there are any brain scientists, or just very smart people in the know : ) who can comment on this wild idea or share literature on this, would be highly appreciated. Thank you.

FYI, currently I put an adjusted hearing aid in my left bad ear; which allows for some “noise” recognition, but no actual comprehension or understanding. It’s a safety blanket, rather than actual working solution. I hear with my right ear only; which as any sensorineural SSHL/UHL sufferer will tell you is both “workable” in very quiet home or office environments, but also totally unworkable in even slightly noisy office, home, or outside environments!

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Edited
@andyf said:

Q: If I constantly input sound into my severe-hearing loss (but not deaf) left ear using an appropriately programmed Hearing Aid, over time (assume years), could the plasticity of the brain allow to adjust & “recognize” the sounds by utilizing the limited cochlear hair cells and hearing neural paths that are still “active” and sending signals?

I’m neither a brain researcher, nor a hearing professional, nor am I very smart. I’m just compelled to reply to your post because my common sense tells me that:

1.The area of the brain that should be receiving auditory input will be subsumed by other functions (eg. Vision) if it does not receive that stimulation,
2. You already have a hearing aid for the bad ear,
3. Your existing can be adjusted to deliver sound to the impaired ear at safe SPLa using ,
4. Used as a means of "buying time for your left ear by offering it some stimulation, this option may see the development a suitable or other therapeutic protocol in the future, and
5. In the absence of guidance to the contrary, a decision to use a properly-fitted hearing instrument in the left ear is not deleterious, and causes no harm.

So - and I wish it to be clear that this is in no way offered as a medical opinion - I would be using a hearing aid in my bad ear, if I were in your shoes.

I would also be seeing a speech therapist to maximize the chances that the brain could, in fact, benefit from whatever it is that the second HA is allowing it to hear.

There’s my $.02, FWIW.

You will never get the sort of sound out of that ear with sudden loss that you have out of your good ear. Consistent wear at an appropriate amplification level (which would be difficult given that it will probably sound a lot worse than the right ear and may interfere) might push your word recognition in quiet up a bit on that side. I would not expect tremendous gains in noise. If you think you might ever have access to putting a on that side, it’s probably worth keeping some amplification in that ear for at least part of the day.

Single-sided deafness has a tremendous impact on speech processing in noise, which can sometimes be difficult for your typically hearing peers to understand. Do you have the option of trying out a Phonak Roger On with a Roger Focus in the right ear? I’d think this would be your best bet to improve your hearing in noise.

Edited

@Neville @SpudGunner Thank you both for your comments and advice. I will continue to keep using the in my poor ear; and continue hoping & looking for new technologies & options. technology does not seem to work for me. Reading articles, sounds like AMPCros option would just confuse or disturb my hearing & comprehension in my good ear. However, never thought of the Roger idea. So I would put a HA in my GOOD ear in noisy situations (only), and connect to Roger device, to supplement with filtered & selective noises (i.e. speech only) with what I can already hear and filtered through my good hearing ear? Works kind of like a CROS receiver; but more advanced & focused sound selection? Also, engaging a Speech Therapist is a totally new idea too. In my case, what would I ask them to do?

Edited

@andyf: I would explain your situation and ask them ro devise some “brain plasticity exercises” (for the want of a better term) to assist your brain in filtering the sounds you hear. You’ll want to have some notes about what you can hear with your bad ear, and how that perception differs from your good ear.

[Let’s say that your good ear hears a coffee grinder, but your bad ear hears a hiss. We can’t change that perception because your hearing apparatus is damaged. However, we can, perhaps, train your brain to correctly interpret that particular hissing sound as a coffee grinder whenever you hear it. Good ear hears a coffee grinder, bad ear hears a coffee grinder - differently, of course - but the brain is now happier because there’s no more cognitive dissonance associated with hearing a coffee grinder in one ear and noise in the other.

The purpose of the training is not to make you hear more sounds. It is to improve the accuracy of the informational content of the sounds you’re able to hear with the bad ear. Viz. “Oh! I know what that hiss is! It’s the coffee grinder!” So - we’re not improving the neural signal from the ear, but rather, we’re improving the brain’s ability to correctly interpret the damaged neural signal. We’re helping you to hear better, however, we’re not doing it from the ear side, but rather from the brain side.]

You will be unable to do this by yourself, but brain learning/rewiring is feasible. You may want to use your browser search engine to research recent advances in this field. There have been many. Try doing some general reading about neuroplasticity to understand where I’m coming from … it’s all very encouraging!

In reply to @andyf

@andyf said:

CROS technology does not seem to work for me.

Why? What was your experience? Honestly, I wouldn’t expect an enormous benefit in noise from a . The CROS would help you hear speech from your bad side so that you don’t always have to crane your head around, and might help with environmental awareness, but it probably wouldn’t give you the boost in noisy situations that you are looking for. However, most of my CROS patients are still pretty happy with them.

@andyf said:

So I would put a HA in my GOOD ear in noisy situations (only), and connect to Roger device, to supplement with filtered & selective noises (i.e. speech only) with what I can already hear and filtered through my good hearing ear?

Yup. You don’t even need a true hearing aid, you can put a Roger Focus in the good ear (basically looks exactly like a hearing aid but cheaper because it’s just a receiver) and use the Roger On with that.

No cochlear implants in Japan? Or do they only given them to individuals with two bad ears?

In reply to @Neville

@Neville Thanks for the follow-up. Yeah, probably my expectations of technology is a little too high. However mostly need help for conversations in noise; and in mild-noise, sound-localization would be great (i.e. I can hear it, but where from) but cannot achieve this with a CROS. Yes, in Japan, need hearing loss in both ears to be considered for a Cochlear Implant. The did not even recommend trying , even when I ask about potential of this option, when I lost hearing in my left ear. It’s true that trying HAs, I have yet to find a good solution; however the Roger device idea sounds promising and something totally new to look into. Thanks for this. Will discuss with my HA specialist.

Edited

Hi @SpudGunner @Neville. FYI, as an update, as per your suggestion, trialled latest hand-held Phonak Roger-On stick, along with Phonak Paradise P90 (Premium) hearing aid in my good/perfectly working ear to receive the transmitted sounds. Tried for 3 months; so would like to share what I found, for my case.

  • Definitely better & more focussed than -P and Hearing Aid() set-up; although pretty much the same cost. However if just select a Phonak “Receiver” for my hearing ear (with no “sound processing” chip & capability), instead of a bells & whistles sound-processing HA; cost would be significantly cheaper! Did not try this cheaper option; but theoretically could be acceptable option since the Roger does the electronic sound processing; and good hearing ear + brain has perfectly natural sound-processing capabilities.
  • Was great set-up as an amplifier when Roger was put in-front of or connected to TV in background noise. Good picking up conversation on my left-side (poor hearing ear side) in quiet home or office environment, So “useful” although not “significant” to my daily hearing experience.
  • However, since open-vent tips used for HA (Paradise P90) in my hearing ear, sound sent from Roger to HA cannot compete or overcome natural environment background noise also entering my good ear at same time; however much I increased the volume on the HA.
  • Did not manage to trial using a closed vent for my hearing ear; to “suppress” background noise competing with sound sent from the Roger. Wondering if you have any thoughts on if such a set-up would be workable/practical in a perfectly hearing ear?
@andyf said:

However if just select a Phonak “Receiver” for my hearing ear (with no “sound processing” chip & capability), instead of a bells & whistles sound-processing HA; cost would be significantly cheaper! Did not try this cheaper option; but theoretically could be acceptable option since the Roger does the electronic sound processing; and good hearing ear + brain has perfectly natural sound-processing capabilities.

Yeah, I don’t know why you would get the P90, to be honest. Were I in your place I would consider going with the M30 if I wanted bluetooth phone streaming, or the P30-13 if I thought that I ever might add a . Or just the focus.

in a noisy environment might help a little bit, but I would’t suggest them for day-to-day wear, so it depends on how comfortable you are switching them around. At some point as noise increases to a level where people without hearing loss are leaning in and straining, you need to start giving the Roger On directly to the person you are talking to to speak into. How were you using it?

Hi @Neville Thank you for the reply and suggestion.

Since in most cases I only need it in slightly noisy environments (office with lots of clatter for sound coming from my poor hearing side, at a busy restaurant or party where need to listen in or engage in the conversation from all sides), I generally used the Roger utilizing focussed pointer/zoom capability. So only used on “special” occasions, rather than throughout the day. (Had to return, since trial period was over)

Heard Phonak have a new mechanical auto open/close vent tip “Active Vent” option (need to research reviews). Never tried listening using a closed vent, so maybe trial and see how my hearing changes (i.e. how my hearing qualify suffers!) if I put in a closed vent tip + premium (with minimal amplification) in good ear. Assume this will mirror the kind of processed sound + qualify coming in from a Roger.

If any other thoughts or suggestions, highly appreciated. Thank you.

@andyf said:

Assume this will mirror the kind of processed sound + qualify coming in from a Roger.

No, I doubt it would be as good as the Roger. Might improve the roger a bit, though.

I have yet to fit an Active Vent. The 75 click that it makes when closing put me off a bit.

@Neville Thank you for the comment.
Will update you and all, if and when I get the chance to trial the Active-Vent, or just a l
or Receiver with a Closed Vent tip. Could take a while since latest overseas tech is always very delayed in launching in Japan. Hopefully will get closer to a workable and practical solution for background noise scenarios where my Unilateral Hearing Loss is causing me problems! Thanks again.

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