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The benefits of binaural hearing

Last update on Jan, 13, 2021
 Heather Hellberg

Heather Hellberg

Miracle-Ear Audiologist

When to invest in two hearing aids

Hearing does not happen in your ears but in your brain. Your brain uses information from your ears to decipher sound, as well as provide space perception, depth perception and balance. Binaural hearing, or hearing with both ears, benefits your brain by providing it with a fuller set of stimulus data.

If you’re using one hearing aid when your hearing test indicates that you should be using two, the chances of your brain getting all the information it needs to hear and understand reduces by 50%. It also removes the ability to perceive space and depth. 

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Benefits of binatural hearing

Here are some of the benefits of binaural hearing and why you should invest in two hearing aids:

Need of less amplification power

Less amplification power is required when two hearing aids are worn.
The reduced need for amplification means that loud sounds are more comfortable and listening is less stressful.

To hear in stereo, we require both ears

Anyone who has listened to music in stereo, as opposed to mono, knows that it’s necessary for depth perception. Mono makes all sounds seem flat and unnatural. Your hearing is the same: your brain can hear in stereo, but it requires that we use both ears. Things will sound more natural and will also be more easily understood.

Detect where sounds are comming from

Binaural hearing allows you to detect what direction a sound is coming from. Someone using only one ear to listen is often wondering, “Where is that sound coming from?” Binaural hearing, however, gives the listener a sense of location and the ability to locate sounds in all directions.

It helps creating a spatial perception

Just as your brain uses the images that each of your eyes see to create one cohesive picture, your two ears working together creates this spatial perception. The two halves of your brain work together to give you an auditory image. Binaural hearing aids help the ears get the messages to both sides of the brain.

Isolate sounds you really want to hear

In noisy environments with multiple people speaking at once, like at a restaurant, it becomes more difficult to understand the one person at the table with you. Voice discrimination when you’re competing with background noise is difficult even with two ears and becomes almost impossible with only one. Binaural hearing aids provide the greatest advantage to hearing in noise.

Listen to people from both your sides

Those listening with one ear are often considered rude because they tend to ignore people speaking on their unaided side. In business and social settings, wearing two hearing aids is your best bet for being the best listener possible.

Family watching football

Hear better, use both ears

Following your hearing specialist’s advice is a crucially important step in your hearing journey. While it may be tempting to try and do with only one hearing aid, we think the benefits of binaural hearing are too crucial to ignore. Explore our line of Miracle-EarEASY™ hearing aids to find a hearing solution that fits your budget.

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