In our 4th and final tinnitus video series installment, Dr. Mel Miller, Ph.D., CCC-A discusses Tinnitus Proven Treatment Plans and Cures. He discusses:
If you have been advised to use two hearing devices, we want to share with you some of the important advantages of using two.
Most people think of ”hearing” as something that happens in the ears, but in reality, the BRAIN interprets the signals from the ears and converts those signals into something the brain recognizes as speech. So, in many respects, we really don’t fit the ears with hearing aids, we ultimately fit the brain.
Each one of our ears actually lateralizes to the opposite side of the brain and each serves a specific function. For example the right ear, crossing to the left side of the brain, is mostly responsible for “technical” interpretation; differentiating the English language from Spanish for example. The left ear, crossing to the right side of the brain handles more of the aesthetics of language such as deciding if someone is speaking sweetly or sarcastically for example! Pretty important stuff!!!
Today’s sophisticated technology actually tries to mimic this process by “talking to each other”, constantly adjusting to the environment around you. If you have a sound directed at you from one side, for instance, the devices will automatically make some changes by turning one side up and possibly the other side down. This all happens automatically without you doing anything!
Studies indicate that people who wear two hearing devices usually have a better experience with hearing in noisy environments because the sounds are being shared by both ears and both sides of the brain.
Other important benefits include:
Better directionality (locating where sounds are coming from)
Better sound quality
Keeps both ears active
Better clarity
You can have your hearing devices at a lower volume when you wear two
