Hearing Aids

Binaural Advantage

You can buy just one hearing aid, but we  do not recommend it. Here's why... .

• Ever since you were born, your brain has received two signals from TWO ears. This is called bilateral, or two-sided hearing.
• Bilateral hearing helps you locate the source of a sound. It helps you hear softer sounds. And most importantly, it helps you separate speech signals (such as your dinner partner) from background noise (such as restaurant clatter).
• If you only listen with one ear, you lose all these advantages. And that can create stress on your auditory system. You may find yourself straining to listen and getting tired sooner.
• Over a period of years, even worse things can happen. Some studies have shown that the ability to understand words gradually goes down in the unaided ear.
• That's not surprising. If the brain stops receiving signals from one ear, it loses the ability to decode those incoming signals (words). In other words, use it or lose it!
• Two aids are recommended for people whose hearing is symmetrical (the same and equal) in both ears. If you have a "bad" ear and a "good" ear, you may very well only need one hearing aid … in the "bad" ear. In either case, the goal is to have equal hearing on both sides, if possible.