One Ear vs. Two

Jeffrey J. Johnston, BC-HIS Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss

Jeffrey J. Johnston, BC-HIS

I often get the question, “Do I need hearing aids in both ears?” The answer is, yes, if you have hearing loss in both ears. I tell patients, “If God intended you to have one ear, it would sit on top of your head and rotate around.” Our ears are strategically positioned to pick up sounds from all directions while focusing mainly where we are looking.

With correction in one ear you will hear the TV better at a lower setting. One on one conversations will be improved, and phone listening will be enhanced in the fitted ear.

With instruments in both ears, we get better understanding in noisy environments like restaurants and parties. Your brain works with your ears to help pick out the speech source you are focusing on (looking at). We get our sense of direction by having both ears fitted and balanced. Another benefit of wearing hearing aids in both ears is the fact that today’s advanced hearing aids communicate with each other and “share” information so that we can hear more clearly in noise. They don’t get rid of background noise but will allow the wearer to better hear what they are focusing on.

The first thing we need to do to determine if you would benefit from one or two hearing aids is a hearing screening. In some cases fitting both ears would actually make your understanding worse. Some patients start with one hearing aid for financial or personal reasons. We will work with you to figure out what will be best to reconnect you to your life.
Give us a call or go to our website to schedule a free hearing evaluation and consultation.