We are all born with two ears, and we are meant to be able to listen with both of them. At Sears Hearing Centre, we aim to restore your hearing capabilities - with the use of hearing aids - to the way you would naturally hear without a hearing loss. A binaural fitting (hearing aids in both ears) is the better option for most people with hearing loss for several reasons:

Determining the Direction of Sound

The first is that being able to hear with both ears is instrumental in attempting to localize sound. Sound waves arrive at the ear closer to the sound slightly earlier, and at a slightly higher intensity, than they do to the second ear. Our brain is able to process this slight difference, and is able to recognize the direction a sound is coming from. This could be important in situations like when someone is calling your name or when a car is driving up the street you’re about to cross. A hearing aid in each ear will better mimic the functions of your ears before your hearing loss.

Distinguishing Speech in Noise

The second reason is that wearing two hearing aids makes it easier to distinguish speech from background noise, espeically in group situations. By tuning your two hearing aids to the volume appropriate for group situations, you will be able to avoid the amplification of unwanted background sounds. You’ll also avoid the system feedback that comes from wearing one hearing aid at an unreasonably high volume in an attempt to capture all sounds. 

Achieving a Division of Volume

It can become irritating and uncomfortable when one ear is forced to process high levels of sound, while the other ear is not. A more pleasant way to take in noise would be with the balanced use of two hearing aids, so that sound will be processed by both ears at a moderate level, as opposed to by one ear too loudly. 

While two hearing aids is the best choice for most, there is a small percentage of people with hearing loss for whom a binaural fitting would not be appropriate. Speak to your Hearing Health Care Professional to learn whether two hearing aids are a good fit for you.