Ok, try this: Cover one eye with your hand and look around. Notice how clarity, depth perception and spatial awareness are effected?
It’s not much different with our ears.
Just as we use both eyes to see our best, our two ears work together to help us hear our best. That’s why it’s usually recommended — even if hearing loss is predominantly in one ear only — to boost both ears with hearing aids.
Wearing hearing aids in both ears helps:
Speech understanding
It’s easier to be selective in what you listen to, allowing you to focus on conversations more easily.
Sound detection
You can more reliably detect where sounds are coming from, which is helpful in social settings or on a busy street.
Sound distinction
With one hearing aid, different noises and words tend to sound alike, making it tougher to tell things like voices apart.
Sound quality
Just as a stereo sounds better than a radio, two hearing aids enhance the sound quality of everything you hear, and improve listening range.
Brain stimulation
Your brain likes getting equal inputs from both ears, and is less likely to suffer from auditory deprivation.
Listening ease
Specific, programmed amplification in each ear is less tiring, straining and more satisfying than when only one ear gets all the help.
The Greek philosopher, Epictetus, said “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” If hearing aids were around in 75 AD, he no doubt would have recommended we always keep both ears hearing their very best.