CROS and BiCROS hearing aids
CROS and BiCROS hearing aids are for people who have hearing in only one ear.
These are made up of a conventional hearing aid that sits in the hearing ear, and a microphone that looks like a hearing aid, which sits in the ear with no hearing.
CROS (contralateral routing of sound) hearing aids pick up sound from the side with no hearing and feed it into the hearing ear. This type of hearing aid is for people who have good hearing in their hearing ear.
BiCROS (bi-contralateral routing of sound) aids amplify sound from both sides and feed it into the ear with better hearing. This hearing aid is for people who have hearing loss in their hearing ear.
Benefits of CROS and BiCROS hearing aids
These hearing aids are especially good for certain situations. It means you don’t have to make sure people speak into your ‘good’ ear.
You will also be more aware of other noises around you.
Limitations of CROS and BiCROS hearing aids
You might still struggle to tell where sounds are coming from with these hearing aids.
How to get this hearing aid
You can get behind-the-ear (BTE) versions from the NHS and in-the-ear (ITE) versions privately.