Usage of CROS hearing aids by unilaterally deaf patients

Fifty (58%) unilaterally deaf patients responded to a contralateral routing of signals (CROS) hearing aid usage questionnaire. Their actual usage in communicative environments was quite variable, with 50% to 60% of the time being the avarage in most of these situations. Mean communicative usage was essentially similar when the ambient nature of the environment could be described as quiet, speech competition, noise and/or speech babble, and reverberant/noisy. It is extremely difficult to determine who will be a successful CROS wearer on the basis of diagnostic results that are obtained with the use of earphones. Not every unilateral listener is a CROS candidate. The importance of a sound-field evaluation in a controlled environment, a trial period, and follow-up consultations cannot be overemphasized.