Many people believe they have a “good ear” and a “bad ear,” and that purchasing just one aid can solve their hearing loss for half the cost. While it may be true you have a “better ear” with less hearing loss, there is usually some degree of loss present in both ears. Here are a few reasons why we recommend most customers get two hearing aids.
The Monocle Metaphor
Think about your vision. Even if one eye is better than the other, you’ve never considered wearing a monocle to address your eyesight. You wear glasses that correct each eye accordingly, and you know that with only a single eye corrected, your depth perception and eyesight would be worse overall. Similar to wearing glasses, your hearing benefits greatly by wearing a pair of hearing aids instead of just one.
Clearer, Balanced Hearing
Our brains are designed to process signals from both ears at the same time and the same volume. Wearing two hearing aids allows your ears to balance the sound and hear naturally. If you only use one hearing aid, the sound signal is more difficult to understand. You’ll find greater comfort with two aids and better, richer results overall.
Better Understanding of Speech
Utilizing both of your ears equally also helps you decipher speech from background noise. Your brain takes in sound from both directions in order to detect where it’s coming from. When trying to understand someone, it’s important to be able to identify what direction they are so you can focus on what they’re saying, while ignoring distant conversations and other background noise.
Higher Awareness and Safety
Not only is identifying the source of sound helpful in deciphering speech, it can be an important factor in your safety. Wearing two hearing aids helps you fully understand your surroundings and distinguish where important sounds are coming from—like sirens, cries, or alarms. For example, knowing where to pull over when you hear an ambulance siren or looking in the right direction when your name is called.
Use it or Lose it
When wearing only one hearing aid, that ear tends to overcompensate and the other one can weaken. Using two hearing aids keeps both ears active, slowing down hearing deterioration and lowering the risk of further loss in either ear.
The Exception to the Rule
We only recommend using one hearing aid if your hearing test results show that you only have loss on one side. In this case, it’s up to you. There are still some circumstances where people feel off balance with just one hearing aid and will use two aids to gain a sense of equilibrium between both ears. Much like no ophthalmologist would suggest testing out a monocle to see if you would benefit from glasses, the best way to see if hearing aids will work for you is to experience balanced hearing using two hearing aids.
You used to have to go to the audiologist to get hearing aids, but now you have the option to shop around! MDHearing wants to help make sure you’re 100% happy with who you purchase from.
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