I need a biCROS hearing aid. Should I consider RIC or CIC?

Koorosh Nejad
2 hours ago
4 min read

Here is a summary of my consultation with a couple of patients over the telecare about their choices of biCROS hearing aids. Both patients were first-time users of hearing aids, and they both were wondering whether they should consider RIC biCROS or CIC biCROS hearing aids to start. Also, they were wondering which models of RIC and CIC hearing aids are best in the market.

I need a biCROS hearing aid. Should I consider RIC or CIC Questions and answers on HearingNow

Please read more about one-sided hearing loss, biCROS and CROS hearing aids in the following articles:

Should I choose between RIC and CIC hearing aids for a CROS or biCROS set?

A rechargeable CROS CIC hearing aid can be quite invisible for large-sized ear canals, but a CROS RIC will be more visible. Other differences of RIC versus CIC hearing aids in the CROS system are:

The RIC hearing aids do interfere with using helmets for active sports such as skiing, mountain biking, etc. On the other hand, CIC hearing aids have better retention than RIC hearing aids, so if you are into active sports, or yoga, sailing and those activities where retaining the hearing aids in the ear is important, then go for the CIC CROS system.
CIC hearing aids are the choice of hearing aids for doctors and medical crews, as well as those in DIY and construction who need to use masks, as it does not interfere with masks as much as RIC hearing aids do.
CIC CROS hearing aids do not have Bluetooth. If streaming music and managing hands-free calls are a priority for you, then you might want to choose RIC CROS systems. Also, without Bluetooth, remote reprogramming will be quite limited, if not impossible. If you have limited mobility or wish to take advantage of remote reprogramming them, you should go for RIC CROS hearing aids.
RIC's sound quality and noise processing are better than CIC hearing aids. If you think you might be using your CROS hearing aids in noisy environments, you might want to choose a RIC hearing aid with sophisticated background noise reduction.
CIC hearing aids do a better job in terms of wind-noise management, hence would be a better choice if you work outside in a windy location.
CIC hearing aids are good for mild to moderate hearing loss. If your hearing loss in the good ear is severe or severe to profound, you must consider RIC CROS or RIC biCROS hearing aids.

Rexton Reach inoX CIC Li - CROS/BiCROS

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Should I care to have Bluetooth on my CROS hearing aid?

I believe that this question can be presented to any patient who is looking for hearing aids, no matter if they are looking for a binaural fitting (both sides processing and amplification), or a CROS/biCROS system. The answer is back to the patient to assess the needs and the wants of the patient. For example, if the patient has a top priority for an invisible CROS, then the choice of an invisible CROS hearing aid may not have Bluetooth. If the vanity of the hearing aids is not your top priority, then you could choose RIC CROS hearing aids that have Bluetooth. The only advantage of a CROS hearing aid without Bluetooth that I can imagine is that the battery life of such a hearing aid would last longer. Bluetooth takes some of the battery power of the CROS hearing aid. Remember that CROS hearing aids usually come short on battery life to operate for a full day. This is not a concern with battery-operated CROS hearing aids, but may be a concern with rechargeable CROS hearing aids.

Should I go for rechargeable CROS hearing aids or battery-powered CROS hearing aids?

CROS and biCROS hearing aids are in constant communication, so they are power hungry. Up until recently, most rechargeable CROS hearing aids could only offer 12-14 hours of run time to the user. But in the past couple of years, some manufacturers have offered superior battery life for the rechargeable hearing aids, which pushed the limit of the run time for CROS systems. Some of the best rechargeable CROS hearing aids at the time of this report are:

Do CROS or biCROS hearing aids help you hear better in a noisy restaurant?

The short answer is not much. The sound transmitted from the deaf side to the good ear might have a lot of noise that may overwhelm the good ear with a lot of noise. If you wish to use a CROS or biCROS hearing aid in a noisy restaurant, then my advice is to buy a hearing aid that has a very good noise processing and ask your audiologist to fit it with closed domes for you. Please see this article, which discusses hearing with CROS and biCROS hearing aids in noisy environments in detail.

What is the most affordable invisible CIC CROS hearing aid?

My choice of invisible CIC CROS system is Rexton Reach inoX. It comes in 5 technology levels. If you're holding a very tight budget, then you can step down on the technology level. Obviously, the lowest model will be Rexton Reach inoX 1 IX CROS.

What is the most affordable RIC CROS hearing aid?

I suggest considering a couple of points in choosing a RIC CROS. One is the battery run life if you want them to be rechargeable, and the second important point is to have a good noise reduction processing algorithm. You don't want to buy very cheap CROS hearing aids which run out of battery in the middle of the day, or are not suitable for using them in a noisy environment. My choice of an affordable set of CROS or biCROS RIC hearing aids is Starkey Edge AI RIC CROS and Signia Pure C&G BCT IX. You can step down on the technology level until you are comfortable with the price, but remember that you will be losing some of the key abilities of the hearing aid.