A Greek philosopher called Epictetus once said “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
In terms of hearing however there are several reasons why two ears are better than one. There is still today a misconception that a hearing loss can be dealt with properly with one hearing aid, largely due to the prescription methods still carried out by the NHS.
There are justifiable reasons for the NHS to do so. Firstly as there is a cost implication to the N.H.S. or rather the P.C.T. (Primary Care Trust) for a single hearing aid and it is around the £400 mark. If you go to the N.H.S. for a digital hearing aid you will have no choice in design or technology. They would love to fit small high specification hearing aids but they could not afford to.
Also first time hearing aid users are more self conscious to the cosmetics of large hearing aids that they feel uncomfortable wearing them, to the point that they would rather leave them in the top drawer rather than wear them.
10 GOOD REASONS FOR TWO HEARING AIDS INSTEAD OF ONE
1. Binaural summation; is the increased affect in volume and clarity gained when wearing two hearing aids over one.
2. Localisation: When a hearing aid user wears only one hearing aid it will undoubtedly improve volume and clarity of hearing. However pin pointing where sounds are coming from proves impossible due to the wearer always thinking that perceived sounds are coming from the amplified side. Worst case scenario could be working out the direction of traffic whilst crossing a road.
3. Hearing in Noise: The worst environment for a hearing impaired person is when there is background noise. We all have an ability with binaural hearing to stretch our eardrums (stapedius reflex), which acts as a background noise reduction method, allowing a better signal to noise ratio. This ability is lost, almost completely giving little to no benefit when wearing only one hearing aid.
4. Speech Directionality; Wearing two hearing aids cuts out the head-shadow effect that occurs when you are wearing only one hearing aid. If a person speaks to the unaided side it is reduced by around a fifth. This means that the wearer is always “cocking” the good ear to the speaker. It also means that instead of hearing sounds throughout 360 degrees, they can only hear through 180 degrees.
5. Straining to hear; when the user listens with one hearing aid it is more of a strain to hear properly.
6. Lost in translation; When we listen to speech, firstly our brain has to perceive the sounds and then it has to calculate its meaning. Wearing one hearing aid reduces the brains ability and speed to do both accurately resulting in misinterpretation.
7. Stereo sounds; when our brain is stimulated binaurally it gives a more true definition of what the sounds are which makes it more intelligible.
8. Volume; if we fit one hearing aid we as dispensers normally have to turn it up more to try and compensate what is not being heard in the other ear. The affects are far less affective and it may well be advised to fit two cheaper hearing aids instead of one top of the range.
9. Tinnitus; Research shows that amplified sounds heard through two hearing aids is more likely to suppress the affects of tinnitus although not guaranteed.
10. Natural hearing; Wearing two hearing aids provide a more natural sensation to the listener. As Epictetus said two ears are better than one.
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