Options for restoring or helping hearing?

[hmmmm1977]

I was diagnosed with sudden hearing loss in my left ear a little over a year ago. I am profoundly deaf in that ear with little comprehension. Honestly its driving me crazy :( I was wondering about options?
So far my doctor provided me with a few:
•cochlear implants- but my doctor says that is usually reserved for patients that are profoundly deaf in both ears, plus it probably costs a pretty penny which I am not sure that my insurance would cover?
•a new type of double hearing aide, essentially two hearing aides, one in each ear...which would transmit noises from my bad ear to the good ear, via bluetooth technology?, giving me the ability to still hear the sounds from my left ear to my right ear.
•a metal post implanted behind my ear into the back of my head... ie. Frankenstein style.. This would also transmit the sounds from the left side to my right ear.

So what I am asking is there any more options that I am missing? I have an appointment with Miracle ear to see if there is any newer technological advanced hearing aides that can improve comprehension. Also I have seen a story about a man that could never hear much of anything and suddenly got these new hearing aides that are giving him comprehension still wondering what kind of hearing aides he got? I will post the article in the general forums if it hasn't been posted yet.

[DocAudio]

1. cochlear implants aren't considered hearing aids they are prosthetic devices and therefore nearly always covered by insurance. Yes they are expensive because of the surgical costs involved but like I said, insurance usually picks up most of the tab.

2. It's a CROS (if the other ear is normal) hearing aid and they are not new...they have been around for MANY years. Regardless, some people who get them love them, some hate them. Not much gray area there. I've fit several with mixed results.It's not via blue-tooth but via a wireless antenna if you select the one made by Phonak, otherwise you can get any hearing aid configured this way but there's a small cord attaching the two devices.

3. This sounds like a BAHA hearing aid which uses bone conduction to transmit the sound not to your bad ear but over to your good ear. The same thing can be accomplished with the Trans-Ear which looks (more or less) like a regular BTE that you wear on the bad side with a unit that fits deeply into the canal and also uses bone-conduction to transmit the sound on the dead side over to the good side. Thing about the transear is you can't see it like you could see the BAHA if it was on the headband. If you get the implanted device it's usually mostly hidden by hair.

Cancel the appointment at Miracle ear, it is a waste of your time. There is no hearing aid on the market that will restore hearing or improve comprehension to a dead ear. It doesn't matter how amazing the sound coming out of a hearing aid is, if the ear is dead or the sound quality is so compromised that there is no clarity during a hearing test regardless of volume then a hearing aid is worthless regardless of how new/fancy the tech is.

[Craig63]

I also had sudden hearing loss in my left ear in May. I have some hearing in my left ear but low word descrimination. I have been told that the BAHA or CROS are my two options. I did see the Trans - Ear in my search for options on the internet. My ENT did not know much about it. Where would you rate this as compaired to the BAHA and CROS.

[DocAudio]

I think the BAHA might work a bit better, but it involves surgery whereas the trans-ear does not. The one person I have fit with it says she doesn't notice a huge difference when it's in but when she takes it out, she doesn't hear as well.

[Brock]

Sudden listening loss most typically occurs in one ear and differs in intensity from individual to individual. For some, the start of the sudden listening to problems is revealed to have been observed immediately, often in the morning. Some time old age effect the listening.