Only one Hearing Aid?

It makes sense to save a bundle by just getting one hearing aid instead of two...Right?

"No, you need two hearing aids to balance yourself out"

 Actually, if you have hearing loss in both ears, than treating just one side will do you a huge disservice. It's a bit like walking with one shoe on and the other barefoot - we all know what will happen: you will soon experience hip and back problems and you could even fall over when taking stairs or uneven ground.

Treating just one ear does similar potential damage to your brain; after all, we hear with our brains. Our ears are only the conduit to deliver sound to the auditory cortex, which is the part of the brain that processes sound.

Our amazing bodies were designed symmetrically. The body likes two equal eyes, two equal sized legs etc. Our brain is so accustomed to even-sided organs, that even the slightest disruption can cause not only fatigue, but also an onset of potential health problems. Especially balance problems! That's why the elderly fall often - many of them have untreated hearing loss or treated it too late in life.

Another perfect example would be having just one eye glass - of course no optometrist would ever suggest it since they too know how the body needs equality on both sides. And if you had only one, imaging the headaches you'd get!

We Hear with our Brain

 I've even noticed this with Tinnitus. (Ringing in your ears). A few patients have come to my office with ringing in only one ear; or at least it seemed that way. However, in many cases, one hearing aid in that affected ear was not completely effective. That's because up to 80% of sound travels from one ear to the opposite side of their brain - so sound coming from your left ear routes most of the information to the right side of the auditory cortex. There is a massive and complex cross-network in your brain's hearing and that helps localize sound from all directions.

Speaking of that annoying ringing or buzzing in your brain:

Millions suffer from Ringing in the ears, known as Tinnitus

So far, we have found only one way to treat that annoying Ringing in Your Ears, otherwise known as Tinnitus.

Since Tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss (even mild loss like what I have) the top Hearing Aid manufacturers like ReSound have developed a highly sophisticated masking technique found only in hearing aids. So while treating your hearing loss (of any degree) we also have an 80% effective success rate to get rid of (or at least reduce) Tinnitus.

For me, this removed more than half of my daily fatigue and I have far less headaches than ever before.

It all starts with your hearing test, known as an audiogram; our intelligent Hearing Aid software takes your hearing loss information and uses a special pleasant white noise (like a nice ocean noise) to feed just the right information, which basically tells your brain to stop ringing. You should see the faces of our patients who have responded favorably to this amazing treatment! What a relief is an understatement!

Visit our website for more information: www.crystalclearhearingaids.com

Hearing loss & the brain

Ever notice how some adults get distracted or tired easily? It may have to do with changes in their brains that are related to hearing loss. Here's a peek inside the brain of someone with hearing loss.

How does hearing affect the brain in the first place?

First we should look at how the brain processes sound in adults. Researchers have studied and continue to study how and where sounds are processed and perceived by the brain. They've found that there's a link between hearing and cognition-the brain's process of perceiving and understanding.

Thanks to magnetic imaging, scientists are able to watch the brain and see how it activates in response to certain sounds. They've discovered that we don't hear with just one part of our brain. The process of hearing also stimulates other brain areas.

For example, when a researcher said a simple word, it activated the auditory cortex. The auditory cortex was where that word was technically heard. But a few other areas of the brain also lit up in the cerebral cortex. Those areas were where that word was understood, perceived  or cognitively connected.

Scientists believe there's a dual-track association between hearing and cognition. Sound activates the auditory cortex, the cerebral cortex and cognitive processes influence how we hear.

We rely on cognitive elements of the brain, like working memory and life experiences, to understand a conversation in a noisy place. Surprisingly, only 10% of understanding speech in a noisy environment is by the actual hearing capacity.

So what happens to the brain when hearing is impaired?

Because there is a decline in sound stimuli and sensory deprivation, hearing loss can lead to  structural and functional changes in the brain. There can be reduced connectivity, brain signal decline, deterioration of the auditory cortex (which is the part of the brain that hears) and a reduction in overall brain volume. These structural and functional changes can affect the brain's capacity to process and perceive sounds and may contribute to cognitive decline.

The brain is forced to compensate for these losses by activating alternative circuits. It enlists accessory neuron networks and that means increased cognitive effort is needed to weed out irrelevant sounds, like background noise, and more concentration is needed for hearing.

A high cognitive effort reduces the amount of brain resources available to process everything else. So things like concentration, memory and planning may be affected. It's easier to get distracted. And constantly decoding and processing sounds can take up a lot of mental resources and can be tiring.

How can this type of cognitive decline be prevented?

Treatment of hearing loss can help keep the brain functioning at an ideal level and can contribute to a good quality of life. There are many hearing solutions and are they are highly effective. In fact, 95% of people with hearing loss can be helped by hearing aids.

It's important to identify and treat hearing loss early. The longer treatment is neglected, the more challenging it can be for the brain to relearn and repair itself. Like physical therapy after a surgery, consistent use of hearing aids is essential in a successful treatment plan.

Certain portions of this article were taken from a blog at Amplifon