Can I Have a Hearing Loss in One Ear?

10/18/2022 | Hearing Loss, Patient Resources

If you find yourself always turning one favored ear toward a conversation, it's likely you already suspect that your hearing is better in that ear

If you have a hearing loss in only one ear, you might think that it’s not important enough to treat, but not treating it can have long-term consequences you might not have considered.

Of 13% of people with a hearing loss in the US, 60,000 of them only have a hearing loss on one side. For some, the hearing loss can be severe while hearing on the other side is good. For others, they might have some mild hearing loss on one side but moderate to profound hearing loss on the other.

It’s important to keep in mind that the brain and your hearing system work best when both sides of the brain are stimulated by sound at the same time, and the best way to care for your hearing health is to treat any sign of hearing loss, even if it’s only in one ear.

Concerned about your hearing loss in one ear? Have it tested and treated by a hearing care expert.

What Causes Single-Sided Hearing Loss (SSHL)?

Other than sudden hearing loss, which is often caused by a single event of loud noise exposure or head trauma, hearing loss in one ear can be caused by any number of issues, for example:

  • A genetic disposition
  • A medical condition
  • Trauma to the brain or a brain injury
  • An infection in the inner or outer ear
  • Damage to the eardrum
  • Earwax buildup

If your hearing loss is sudden, please come see us as soon as possible (within hours rather than days), as there are treatments we can provide to save your hearing before the damage is permanent.

Whatever the cause of your one-sided hearing loss, Holland Hearing Center has the expertise to diagnose and treat it so you can hear clearly again.

Signs of Single-Sided Hearing Loss

If you find yourself always turning one favored ear toward a conversation, it’s likely you already suspect that your hearing is better in that ear. You might also find it particularly difficult to follow a conversation when your better ear is not the one close to the speaker.

Some people also have constant or intermittent tinnitus in the affected ear, which makes sense if the theory is true that the brain makes up tinnitus sounds when it can’t process sound properly.

Hearing Tests for Unilateral Hearing Loss

In addition to the tests Holland Hearing Center does for a hearing evaluation, we can also test for a one-sided hearing loss by testing each ear’s hearing at a time for word recognition. This gives us a hearing score that will help us determine the level of hearing loss for each ear.

No matter what the results are of your hearing test, we will go over the results with you and recommend a course of action.

Treatment for SSHL

If your one-sided hearing loss is sudden, it’s possible we can treat it quickly with steroids or surgery. If the hearing loss was caused by trauma to the brain, surgery is sometimes required, and we will refer you to a trusted physician for this.

If your unilateral hearing loss has happened more gradually, the professional way to treat this is with prescription hearing aids.

Depending on the degree of hearing loss in each ear, we might recommend a contralateral routing of signals (CROS) or BiCROS hearing aid.

BiCROS and CROS Hearing Aids

CROS hearing aids work by combining receivers and transmitters to give you 3600 hearing.

The CROS hearing aids are a good choice for people whose hearing is poor in one ear but normal in the other. The receiver sits on or in the poor ear and receives sounds it then transmits to the hearing aid in the good ear.

The BiCROS hearing aids are for people with a hearing loss in both ears, but the hearing in one ear is profoundly worse than the other. They amplify and clarify sounds in both ears and relay any vital information the poorer ear can’t process over to the better ear.

Treat Hearing Loss in One Ear in Abilene

Holland Hearing Center has been Abilene’s most trusted hearing care center for more than 18 years, and our team has 50 years of combined experience in treating hearing loss. The first step to treating a one-sided hearing loss with a customized treatment plan is to have your hearing tested professionally in our hearing center.

Schedule your hearing assessment via our online form, or call (325) 437-4730 , so we can see what’s going on and give you the results along with our recommendations to help you achieve better hearing.

We look forward to meeting you!

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Dr. Kelsi Mangrem AU.D, FAAA

Dr. Kelsi Mangrem received her Bachelor of Science degree in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, as well as her Doctorate of Audiology from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC). Whether a patient, employee, or industry colleague, the philosophy of service to others resonates throughout her character.

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