There’s no ‘bad ear’ with CROS hearing aids
A sleek fix for single-sided deafness
With hearing loss, work and social situations drain you much faster. After a long day of filling in the blanks and asking people to repeat themselves into your good ear, it’s no wonder you’re tired and irritable. But CROS hearing aids pick up sounds from your deaf side and transmit them to your hearing side — clarity, at last.
Discover CROS and BiCROS hearing aids to suit you
Gone are the days of clunky hearing aids that fry your ears with feedback. CROS hearing aids come in different styles and can be equipped with features like noise isolation and Bluetooth connectivity.
- Behind-the-ear (BTE): BTE hearing solutions sit just behind your outer ear and are slightly visible. These powerful aids offer the best battery life and sound quality.
- Completely-in-the-canal (CIC): CICs are virtually invisible, sitting comfortably inside the ear canal. These wireless CROS are rechargeable, sleek solutions for single-sided hearing loss.
- BiCROS: The BiCROS system amplifies sounds from both ears and feeds them into your better-hearing ear. This is best if you have hearing loss in both ears, but only one deaf ear.
Get specialist help with your hearing loss
From full diagnostic hearing tests to hearing aid fittings and follow-up care, Ears To You® appointments are accessible, convenient, and professional.
Hearing tests
No waiting lists or inconvenient locations. Book a visit from a hearing care professional and get a detailed understanding of your ear health.
Hearing aids
Hearing aid technology has come a long way. During your appointment, you’ll get a personalized recommendation based on your lifestyle, preferences, and hearing needs.
Where you’ll find us
Clarity, at last
Get support with your ear health and hearing aids — with fittings and follow-up care.
FAQ
A CROS hearing aid helps people with unilateral hearing loss, i.e. poor hearing in one ear. CROS stands for contralateral routing of signals, which describes how the CROS system transfers sounds from the poorer hearing ear into the good ear. This improves the overall hearing experience as fewer sounds will be missed. Typically, CROS aids are worn in both ears and can sit behind or within the ear, depending on the chosen style.
CROS technology works by picking up sounds from the deaf ear and sending them to the good ear. Typically, the wearer will have two devices: One is a regular hearing aid that sits in the good ear. The other device looks similar but sits in the other ear and contains a microphone for picking up sounds.
CROS hearing aids reduce the ‘head shadow’ effect that prevents you from naturally picking up sounds all around your head. If you have hearing loss in both ears, but one is worse than the other, you may be recommended a BiCROS solution instead. This amplifies the sounds in both ears and sends them to the better-hearing ear.
While many people have great experiences with CROS hearing aids, there are one or two potential drawbacks. Some wearers find it hard to adapt to the CROS system because they’re so used to turning their heads and favouring their better ear. Plus, CROS aids don’t help with localization, so you may not be able to tell where sounds are coming from. That said, a hearing specialist can help you understand your specific degree of hearing loss and make a recommendation for a hearing aid based on your lifestyle.
