There are cases of people only suffering hearing loss in one ear. This is not the norm, though. Most hearing issues arise from natural aging and exposure to loud noises. These usually result in a bilateral hearing loss. That is you have problems hearing in both ears.
In these cases, it is most often advised to purchase two hearing aids, the newer bilateral hearing aid systems. There are many reasons for audiologist making this recommendation. Being able to hear with both ears is more natural and offers a great number of advantages.
Localization
It can be frustrating to hear someone speaking to you and not be able to tell where they are. Just as your two eyes work together to determine the location of and distance to objects your two ears locate sounds. Two hearing aids reduce this problem.
Focus
Your brain naturally filters out background noises (selective listening) when we focus our attention. If you are not able to hear equally with each ear the mind has a much harder time deciding where that point of focus actually is.
Wider Hearing Range
With a single assistive listening device, you are only able to hear in a 180° arc. A second device expands the area you can detect sounds into a full 360° circle. Not only that, with two hearing aids you multiply the distance you can hear sound by a factor of four.
Clearer Sounds
As a general rule two hearing aids will enable you to use lower volume settings. This means you get less distortion and a lower chance of feedback delivering cleaner sound and purer tones.
Less Hearing Loss
As the old saying goes, “use it or lose it”, if left uncorrected the hearing in the ear that is left uncorrected will continue to deteriorate at an accelerated pace.
Feel free to contact our Team to discuss if bilateral hearing is an option for you.