Despite how commonplace hearing loss is, more so as people age, this condition is still greatly misunderstood, which can be attributed to the fact that individuals that are yet to deal with this disorder might automatically assume they never will. Resultantly, there is a wide array of misassumptions surrounding hearing loss and one of the most commonly perpetuated myths about this condition is that it affects both ears simultaneously.

While some people are born with bilateral hearing loss, others develop unilateral hearing loss, whereby one experiences diminished hearing capacity at a higher degree in one ear over the other. In this instance, you could be thinking that you are better off purchasing a singular hearing aid, but you would be sorely mistaken. Below are a few ways bilateral hearing aids will prove efficient for unilateral hearing loss.

Bilateral Hearing Aids Facilitate Sound Localization

When your hearing is at optimum, perceiving sound is as natural as breathing. Thus, it is not surprising that you may never have put much thought into how you can easily detect where sound is coming from without having to turn your head in that direction. This ability to identify where the sound emanates from is referred to as sound localization, and it is a skill that humans develop from the moment they are out of the womb.

What you may not be aware of, though, is that you require both your ears to perceive the sound simultaneously for you to correctly identify its source. When you choose to wear one hearing aid, you will find that your other ear starts to falter, as the quality of sound being perceived will not be the same in each ear. Consequently, your sound localization skills deteriorate. To ensure that you are maintaining the delicate balance that both your ears require to perceive and identify noises simultaneously, it is best to opt for bilateral hearing aids for unilateral hearing loss.

Bilateral Hearing Aids Ensure Proportionate Binaural Stimulation

Similar to how your muscles require stimulation to ensure that they do not succumb to atrophy, so do your ears. Although you may think that using one hearing aid has improved your perception of sound, the reality is your ears will not be receiving equal stimulation. When this happens for an extended period, the ear receiving insufficient stimulation is vulnerable to developing auditory deprivation.

Auditory deprivation occurs when the nerves and auditory pathways in the deprived ear become increasingly inefficient at decoding sound. Before you know it, you will eventually require hearing aids in both ears. Rather than risk exacerbated hearing loss, consider opting for bilateral hearing aids for balanced binaural stimulation.

Contact your health care provider for more information about hearing aids.