I have had the hearing equipment surgically removed from one ear, and the ear canal permanently blocked, for reasons unconnected with hearing. The nerves which carried the hearing signal back to the brain still function, and in hearing tests are actually functioning better on that right side than on the (still hearing normally) left side. I suffer from severe tinnitus, which the surgeon explained as the "static noise" on a radio frequency when a signal isn't available. Does this answer your question?