It’s unusual for people to get the exact same amount of hearing loss in both ears simultaneously. Because one ear commonly has worse loss of hearing than the other, it sparks the question: Can I simply get one hearing aid for the ear that’s worse.
One hearing aid, in many situations, will not be better than two. But there are certain instances, significantly less common instances, however, that a single hearing aid might be the right choice.
You Have Two Ears For a Reason
Whether you’re aware of it or not, your ears efficiently work as a pair. Which means that there are certain advantages to wearing two hearing aids.
- Being Able to Localize Properly: Your brain is always doing work, not just to interpret sounds but also to place them in order to determine where they’re coming from. This is a lot easier when your brain is able to triangulate, and to do that, it needs solid inputs from both ears. When you’re only able to hear well from one ear, it’s a lot harder to figure out where a sound is coming from (Which may be useful, for instance, if you live near a busy street).
- Modern Hearing Aids Work Together: Modern hearing aid technology is designed to work as a pair in the same way as your ears are. The artificial intelligence and advanced features work well because the two hearing aids communicate with one another and, similar to your brain, determine which sounds to focus on and amplify.
- Improved Ear Health: An unused sense will atrophy just like an unused muscle will. Your hearing can start to go downhill if your ears don’t receive regular sound input. Get the organs of your ears the input they need to maintain your hearing by wearing two hearing aids. Using two hearing aids can also help decrease tinnitus (if you have it) and improve your ability to discern sounds.
- Focusing on Conversations: The whole point of using a hearing aid is to help your hearing. Other people talking is something you will definitely want to hear. Because your brain has more sound input when wearing hearing aids, it is better capable of filtering out background noise letting it decide what sounds to concentrate on because they are closer.
Does One Hearing Aid Make Sense in Some Situations?
In most cases, using a pair of hearing aids is a more effective option. But that brings up the question: If someone is using a hearing aid in only one ear, why?
Well, commonly there are two reasons:
- You still Hear Perfectly out of one ear: If just one of your ears needs a hearing aid, then you could be best served by using a hearing aid in just one ear but it’s definitely something you should talk to your hearing professional about (having one better ear is not the same thing as having one perfect ear).
- Financial concerns: Some people feel that they can spend less money if they can use just one hearing aid. If you really can’t afford to buy two, one is better than not getting one at all. However, you should understand that over time untreated hearing loss has been verified to increase your overall healthcare costs. Your healthcare expenses have been demonstrated to rise by 26 percent after only two years of neglected hearing loss. So so that you can discover if using one hearing aid is the right choice for you, contact a hearing care specialist. We can also help you figure ways to make hearing aids more budget friendly.
Two Aids Are Better Than One
Two hearing aids, however, are going to be better than one for your ears and hearing in most circumstances. The benefits of having strong hearing in both of your ears are simply too plentiful to dismiss. In the majority of situations, just like having two ears is better than having one, having two hearing aids is definitely better than having only one. Schedule an appointment with a hearing care professional to have your hearing tested.
