Two Ears or One?
26th March 2008
Should I correct one ear or both?
That really depends if you have a hearing loss in one ear or both ears.
Hearing impairment in one ear
If you happen to have a hearing impairment in one ear you might notice that it takes longer to work out where a sound is coming from. Many people also need a bit more time to work out what the sound is or what has been said.
Do you know that you can hear in 3D? People with normal hearing can tell how close or far, high or low the sound source is. If you closed your eyes you may even be able to work out what is making the noise? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? The technical term for 3D hearing is actually called "Spatial hearing".
In a quiet environment hearing of conversation may not be affected but as background nosie increases so the impairment becomes more apparrent.
Correcting the impaired ear would return the hearing levels back to normal and would allow both ears to work together again. The same way we were designed to hear.
Two ears are better than one
That sounds logical, just like two eyes work better than one! By gathering as much information as quickly as possible, the brain can more easily interpret the sounds it hears. Why is that important? So that you can not only hear, but understand your ever changing environment. Hearing sounds is only a part of the process, but undersanding what you are listening to is what is most important. 3D hearing can only be done with two equal ears.
Many people say they can hear, but they can't understand what is being said, especially in a noisy environment. This problem can only be overcome if both ears are corrected and balanced allowing the brain to pick out what it is you are trying to listen to.
If you have a hearing impairment in both ears then both ears should be aided.
