TWO EARS ARE BETTER THAN ONE Similar to our eyes, our ears are made to function as a pair. If you wear glasses, imagine how hard it would be to see with a lens for only one side. Similarly, we need to maximize our hearing for both ears in order to hear to the best of our ability. Even with normal hearing, listening with only one ear reduces our ability to hear well. A good practical illustration of this is to turn on the TV at home. Standing in front of the TV, move away to the farthest distance where you can comfortably hear and understand the TV. Then cover or plug one ear. Most people find that it becomes more difficult to hear the TV. You’ll either strain to hear, miss some words or you will walk closer to the TV to compensate. The majority of us with nerve loss have hearing loss in both ears. This is called a “bilateral hearing loss”. The brain is divided into two hemispheres—the left and the right. Each hemisphere is stimulated by primarily one ear. Most of the information received by the right ear is transferred to the left hemisphere and by the left ear to the right hemisphere. Research has found that keeping both hemispheres stimulated with auditory information results in better hearing. For bilateral nerve loss, the most common treatment recommended is the use of two hearing instruments. Two hearing instruments produce better hearing results, greater patient satisfaction and several communication advantages. With two instruments, it becomes easier to localize sound, hear the same volume setting on TV at a greater distance and communicate more easily in difficult, noisy situations. A common budget related question from patients with bilateral hearing loss is whether they can get by with a single hearing aid. Research and our practical experience shows that treating both ears is very important to achieve satisfactory results. For that reason, we look at options to make the cost of two instruments fit into most budgets. Our pricing structure heavily discounts the second hearing aid in order to ensure affordable results. BACK TO BETTER HEARING