April 29th, 2008
One or Two?
Do I really need two hearing aids or is one enough? If a person has hearing loss in both ears, then two hearing aids are recommended.
Binaural summation is a technical terms describing that a person hears better with two ears than with only one. The signal that goes to the brain is stronger, and the sound comes across louder when both ears hear it. Locating a sound also improves when both ears receive amplification. If only one ear is hearing well, it is harder for the brain to identify where a sound originated.
Interaural attenuation denotes how sound has to travel around the head to the other side if only one ear is receiving amplification. By the time the sound waves get around the head, the strength of that sound has diminished, which makes it hard to hear sounds from the other side.
Balance and equlilbrium also play a part in wearing one or two hearing aids. If you have hearing loss in both ears, we highly recommend treating both ears with better hearing.