Two Ears Are Better Than One

By Kathy Mellott, AuD

Audiology Unlimited

. http://www.audiologyunlimited.net/

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Two Ears Are Better Than One

Hearing with both ears, as nature intended, is called binaural hearing. It allows us to hear sounds accurately and more naturally. Especially in noisy situations, it gives us a sense of balance and direction.

Most individuals with hearing loss have hearing loss in both ears. Yet some people only wear a hearing aid in one ear. Amplifying one ear only can put you at a disadvantage. It can make it more difficult to hear in noise, understand speech, and detect where sounds are coming from. It can result in straining to hear and cause fatigue. Studies show that even when a hearing loss is worse in one ear, most people with hearing loss in both ears will benefit from wearing two hearing aids.

Sound waves are collected by both the left and right ears, and channeled through each ear canal to each eardrum. When sound waves reach the eardrums, the impact creates vibrations, which are transferred through the middle ears. Each middle ear contains a series of three tiny bones the hammer, anvil and stirrup. The stirrup, the third of the tiny bones, is connected to a delicate, snail-shaped structure in the inner ear called the cochlea. Each cochlea is filled with fluid and lined with thousands of microscopic hairs. The vibrations of the stirrup set the cochlear fluid in motion, causing the hairs to bend from the waves of the moving fluid. The bending of these hairs sets off nerve impulses that are then passed through the left and right hearing nerves. The nerves carry the signals to the hearing centers of the brain. The brain compares the information from both ears and translates the signals into what we perceive and understand as “sound.”

However, when a hearing loss affects both ears, and only one ear is amplified, the brain only receives half of the information and can misinterpret what is being heard. This can also result in a lack of clarity, an inability to locate the source and direction of the sound, as well as a reduction of sound quality. Wearing two hearing aids can help us hear as nature intended.

Years of clinical and field trial research have shown the benefits of binaural amplification. When compared to one hearing aid, wearing two hearing aids can result in clearer speech in normal listening situations. Binaural amplification delivers more of the sounds you need, so your brain can process the sounds correctly, making it easier and more comfortable to understand speech in noise. When hearing through two hearing aids instead of one, sounds have fuller quality and a sense of balance. Because two hearing aids are used, the volume levels of each can be set lower. The act of listening is more comfortable and natural.