Binaural hearing. Why do I need two hearing aids?
Try looking around with just one eye or tying your shoelaces with one hand instead of two. It’s hard, isn’t it? Listening with only one ear is the same – difficult and limited.
Using both ears to hear is called binaural hearing. Our brains are adapted to hear the world with two ears: they use them to localise sounds and to distinguish the corresponding sound from noise.
Hearing aids: why 2 is better than 1?
For maximum comfort and ease of adaptation, it is recommended to choose two hearing aids instead of one. Researchers have assessed the hearing perception of people wearing one hearing aid and people wearing two hearing aids and found that choosing two hearing aids:
- Sound localisation is improved. This means it is easier and faster to identify the direction from which sounds are coming. For example, which direction a car is coming from.
- More intense and clearer sound reinforcement. Two hearing aids give you a wider hearing range and better tone quality.
- Improving speech perception in noisy environments. It is more difficult to hear, participate and follow a conversation in noise, but with two hearing aids, speech perception is significantly better.
- Noise reduction. Around 50% of people who are bothered by tinnitus report that it has disappeared or reduced with two hearing aids. If a client wears one hearing aid, the ear without the hearing aid is likely to continue to be bothered by tinnitus.
- Improves balance function.
The greatest benefit of wearing two hearing aids is felt by people with a very different auditory nerve for different sounds, i.e. where low tones are heard very well and high tones are heard very poorly, and where there is a very sharp contrast between the magnitude of the tones. In this case, in most cases, one hearing aid does not benefit at all, but only seems to interfere.
We are here to help you choose the right hearing aid for you
Book an appointment at your nearest Optics World vision and hearing centre.
Frequently asked questions
What is binaural hearing?
Binaural hearing, or hearing with both ears, helps us to localise sounds no matter which direction they come from. It also allows us to focus on exactly what we want to hear, allowing us to perceive certain sounds such as speech louder and clearer, while ignoring others.
Why do I need two hearing aids?
Two hearing aids offer more benefits: improved sound localisation, improved balance function, better speech perception, more intense and clearer sound, easier adaptation.
What is the cost of hearing aids?
The cost of hearing aids depends on several factors: the type and degree of hearing loss, the model of hearing aid, the technical features and the type of hearing aid chosen. The only person who can tell you exactly how much hearing aids cost is your hearing care professional
