Adult/Teen's Zone: Two Hearing Aids are Better Than One

What are the advantages of getting two hearing aids over one hearing aid?

1. Better understanding of speech:
By wearing two hearing aids rather than one, selective listening is more easily achieved. This means that your brain can focus on the conversation you want to hear. Research shows that people wearing two hearing aids routinely understand speech and conversation significantly better than people wearing one hearing aid do.

2. Better understanding in groups and noisy situations:
Speech intelligibility is improved when wearing two hearing aids. Some advanced binaural technology tends to perform better in noise than older technology.

3. Better ability to tell the direction of sound:
This is called localization. Localization allows you to hear from which direction a sound is coming from (i.e. someone speaking to you, traffic, etc.)

4. Better sound quality:
“Stereo” hearing allows you to get the most natural sound quality. By wearing two hearing aids, you increase your hearing range from 180 degrees to 360 degrees with two hearing aids. This greater range provides a better sense of balance and sound quality.

5. Smoother tone quality:
Wearing two hearing aids generally requires less volume than one. This can result in less distortion, better reproduction of amplified sounds, and less battery drain.

6. Wider hearing range:
A person can hear sounds from a further distance with two ears rather than just one. A voice that is barely audible at 10 feet with one ear, can be heard up to 40 feet away with two ears.

7. Better sound identification:
Often, with just one hearing aid, many noises and words sound alike. But with two hearing aids, as with two ears, sounds are more easily distinguishable.

8. Keep both ears active:
Research has shown that with only one hearing aid, the unaided ear loses its’ ability to hear and understand speech. This is clinically called the auditory deprivation effect. Those wearing two hearing aids keep both ears active.

9. Hearing is less tiring and listening is more pleasant:
More binaural hearing aid wearers report that listening and participating in conversation is more enjoyable with two hearing aids, instead of just one. This is because they do not have to strain to hear with the “better” ear. Thus, binaural hearing can help make listening more relaxing.

10. Feeling of balanced hearing:
Binaural hearing results in a feeling of balanced reception of sound, also known as the stereo effect. Monaural hearing creates the feeling that sound is only being heard in one ear, even when there is some hearing in the unaided ear.

11. Greater comfort with loud sounds:
A lower volume control setting is required with each of the two hearing aids, resulting in more tolerance of louder sounds.

12. Reduced feedback and whistling:
With lower volume control setting, the chance of hearing aid feedback is reduced.

13. Improvement in tinnitus:
Approximately 50% of people with ringing in their ears report improvement when wearing hearing aids. If they have a hearing aid in only one ear there will still be tinnitus in the unaided ear.

14. Client Satisfaction: Research with more than 4000 people with hearing loss in both ears, demonstrated that binaurally fit subjects are more satisfied than people fit with just one hearing aid.


Adapted from S. Kochkin HIS seminar, 1997

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