TWO EARS ARE BETTER THAN ONE! EXCEPT WHEN ONE IS REALLY BAD......

According to Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D. of the Better Hearing Institute, there is an advantage to wearing two hearing aids. If you have hearing loss in both ears, then you are most likely a candidate for two hearing aids. While a hearing healthcare professional can best determine if you are a candidate for two hearing aids (a binaural fitting), the ultimate decision-maker concerning binaural instruments is the person who will wear them.

But what do you do if there is a significant difference between your ears. A good ear and a bad ear; a good ear and a "dead" ear; a "not perfect ear" and a bad ear. There is a solution for these situations. Instead of putting a hearing aid in that "bad" ear, wear a CROS system. A CROS system is a combination of a regular hearing aid for the better ear and a "transmitter" on the bad ear. The transmitter looks just like a regular hearing aid, but its job is to send the sound waves that it receives on the bad ear, around the head and into the hearing aid on the better ear. Typically the devices look the same on each ear, but they can be different if need be.



The benefit of the CROS system, is that your bad ear will "hear" as well as your better ear. For example, a person sitting on your "bad side" will sound just as good as the person sitting on your "good side". We are not really using the bad ear to process the sound, we are using it to gather sound from that side and send it to the other ear.

Now if you've tried CROS aids in the past, and had a negative experience, you should try them again. Talk about "new and improved!" In the past, they were huge behind-the-ear devices and originally were connected with a wire. But today's CROS systems are much smaller and communicate wirelessly.

Another good use for a CROS system is if you have one ear that is "clear" sounding, and the other ear is extremely "unclear", a CROS system can also help. Sometimes patients who have hearing loss due to Meniere's Disease will find themselves in this situation. It's not so much that there's a big difference in hearing, but there is a huge difference in the "clarity" of the ears. Louder, does not make the bad ear "clearer".

Another benefit of CROS systems is that they don't cost as much as two hearing devices because the transmitter is not an actual hearing aid. That makes the "CROS" device significantly less expensive. The hearing aid for the better ear can be any technology level; whatever that ear needs. So is there a disadvantage to CROS systems? There are a couple. CROS systems, because they are now wireless, tend to run the battery down faster. You can expect almost half the life that you would get with a regular hearing device. And the smaller the device, the smaller the battery.......the smaller the battery, the shorter the battery life. I prefer to only fit CROS devices with a size 13 battery, but if the patient wants discretion, there are CROS systems out there using the smaller 312 battery.

The other disadvantage of CROS systems is that by using a CROS device in the bad ear, you do not stimulate the hearing hair cells, as you were doing by wearing a regular hearing aid before. Sometimes, this needs to be considered, especially if the hearing loss has progressed quickly, and a cochlear implant may be in a patient's future. However, if the ear has been "unaided" for quite a while, or is a "dead" ear, then stimulating those hearing hair cells is no longer an issue, and the CROS system could make a difference.

Two Ears Are Better Than One

According to Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D. of the Better Hearing Institute, there is an advantage to wearing two hearing aids. If you have hearing loss in both ears, then you are most likely a candidate for two hearing aids. While a hearing healthcare professional can best determine if you are a candidate for two hearing aids (a binaural fitting), the ultimate decision-maker concerning binaural instruments is the person who will wear them. It is important that the person with the hearing loss be given the chance to experience binaural amplification, before a decision on one or two hearing aids is made. Similar to the way refractory problems in both eyes are treated with a pair of glasses, it makes sense that bilateral hearing loss should be treated with binaural hearing aids. Let me share with you why two hearing aids are better than one.

Better understanding of speech. By wearing two hearing aids rather than one, selective listening is more easily achieved. This means 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.

Better understanding in groups and noisy situations. Speech understanding is improved in difficult listening situations when wearing two hearing aids.

Better ability to tell where sounds are coming from. This is called localization. In a social gathering, for example, localization allows you to hear from which direction someone is speaking to you. Also, localization helps you determine from which direction traffic is coming or where your children or grandchildren are playing. Simply put, with binaural hearing, you will better detect where sounds are coming from in every situation.

Better sound quality. When you listen to a stereo, you use both speakers to get the smoothest, sharpest, most natural sound quality. Plus, wearing two hearing aids generally requires less volume than one. The need for less volume results in less distortion and better reproduction of amplified sounds.

Keeps both ears active resulting in potentially less hearing loss deterioration. Research has shown that when only one hearing aid is worn, the unaided ear tends to lose its ability to hear and understand. This is clinically called the auditory deprivation effect. Wearing two hearing aids keeps both ears active.

Hearing is less tiring and listening more pleasant. More binaural hearing aid wearers report that listening and participating in conversation is more enjoyable with two instruments, 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 life more relaxing.

Feeling of balanced hearing. Two-eared hearing results in a feeling of balanced reception of sound, also known as the stereo effect, whereas monaural hearing creates an unusual feeling on sound being heard in one ear.

Greater comfort when loud noises occur. A lower volume control setting is required with two hearing aids than is required with one hearing aid. The result is a better tolerance of loud sounds.

Reduced feedback and whistling. With a lower volume control setting, the chances of hearing aid feedback (whistling) is reduced.

Tinnitus masking. About 50% of people with ringing in their ears report improvement when wearing hearing aids. If a person with tinnitus wears a hearing aid in only one ear, there will still be ringing in the ear that does not have a hearing aid.

Consumer preference. An overwhelming majority of consumers who have hearing loss in both ears, choose two hearing aids over one, when given the choice to hear binaurally.

Customer satisfaction. Research with more than 5,000 consumers with hearing loss in both ears demonstrated that binaurally fit subjects are more satisfied than people fit with just one hearing aid.

Logically, just as you use both eyes to see clearly, you need two healthy ears to hear as clearly as possible. Before you decide on just one hearing aid, try two. Your hearing healthcare professional can demonstrate to you the binaural advantage during your trial period. Decide for yourself.