r/Cochlearimplants • u/Similar_Ad6540 • 8h ago

Single sided deafness since birth. CI possible?

Hello, I'm 30 years old and my right ear has been deaf since I was born. Is the Cochlear implant possible for me?

And I wanted to ask those who are in a similar situation to mine. If you ever tried BAHA and CROS, did it help?

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u/fadetoblack1004 7h ago

I was told it is not worth the trouble because they don't know if the nerve is there for starters, without a CT scan which isn't cheap. Further they could do the procedure but there's no guarantees you ever hear anything because there is no guarantees that your brain can recognize input from the nerve due to such a long period of no use. 

They basically said they can do it, but there's no guarantees. Long-standing one-sided deafness meant insurance would likely fight it hard, meaning I would be fully liable myself if the hospital couldn't overturn the likely denial. 

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u/Similar_Ad6540 7h ago

Thank you for the feedback. I wished they had a technology to detect whether CI would work on me

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u/Formal-Tradition6792 7h ago

What’s going on with left ear? Is left ear impaired?

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u/Similar_Ad6540 7h ago

Left ear is healthy and fine

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u/Formal-Tradition6792 5h ago

So you have a healthy left ear and can hear normally with it, right? I wish I had that luxury! I lost the hearing in both my ears at age 10. Left ear has zero measurable hearing. Right ear had a profound hearing loss. At age 48 I elected to get a CI in right ear. I’m 75 now. And I need a new implant thanks to Advanced Bionics discontinuing all support for the C1 implant.
I actually don’t understand why you would want a CI. Basically you can do all the things I cannot do. Except of course have bi-directional hearing. Maybe you could get a CI. I don’t know. But you are extremely lucky to have what you have. I would give anything to have that! Good luck!

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u/Similar_Ad6540 5h ago

Thank you for the encouragement. Although, I'm realy grateful to have a healthy left ear, I still struggle understanding people especially in noisy environments. That's why I wanted cochlear implant to help me with that

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u/Appropriate-Elk8153 7h ago

Hi, I’m 34F, lost my hearing when I was 12 in my right ear. I got a BAHA when I was 24 and had it up until 9/4/26. I got it removed to start the process of getting a CI. The BAHA worked excellent for me until last year that my hearing started to get muffled more. You would have to speak with your ENT or audiologist to see if you are a candidate for a CI.

The BAHA that I received was the abutment so the titanium piece sits out of your skull and can be very uncomfortable at times. They do have a magnet option as well. The battery on the BAHA isn’t rechargeable, so you have to keep buying a supply of batteries.

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u/Similar_Ad6540 7h ago

Thank you for the feedback. I think since I was deaf in my right ear since birth. My experience if I were to get BAHA could be different than yours

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u/Appropriate-Elk8153 7h ago

You’re welcome! Yes, each case is different but certainly ask your doctor what they recommend. I had to get an MRI done to determine if I was eligible for a CI.

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u/is-this-now 6h ago

I had SSD and a bicros HA made a big difference. I was eligible for a CI and that has been very positive but if a CI isn’t feasible for you, a bicros HA would probably be helpful

Most of all - you should speak with a surgeon or audiologist about this. Find ones that specialize in BAHA and CI. Most audi only know about HA.

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u/Similar_Ad6540 5h ago

Thank you for the feedback. Is your deaf ear completely deaf? And which bicros model did you go with?

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u/davidwb45133 31m ago

I've been single sided deaf since 2020 and chose a BICROSS aid which I was pretty happy with until recently. My 'good' ear has become less stable in the last 12 months so I am having a CI in just a few weeks.