![]() This situation may have been best summarized by Berger and Millin. Many patients who had procured binaural aids after wearing monaural instruments report that they obtain superior benefit from binaural aids, but it is difficult to determine whether they are really deriving benefits or are simply rationalizing their investment in more expensive instruments.” The Road to Two Amplified EarsĪnd thus, the “battle lines,” so to speak, were drawn, and rather distinct in the 1960s and 1970s about the recommendation for monaural versus binaural amplification. In theory, binaural hearing aids should provide many advantages such as improved localization, better discrimination of speech in the presence of noise and improved quality of sound.” 2īut then, the audiological caveat − Newby adds: “Research investigations, however, fail to demonstrate that patients perform appreciably better with binaural fitting. While binaural aids almost double the cost of monaural aids, there are many hard of hearing individuals who believe that the improved hearing abilities they obtain with stereophonic amplification is worth the expense. “With the advent of head worn aids, the use of true binaural hearing became practicable. ![]() This was a primary text for audiology education at that time and describes the positioning in the late 1960s and much of 1970s between the audiologist and the hearing aid dealer relative to binaural hearing aid amplification. The statement below is from Newby’s (1964) textbook on audiology. The basic question, however, was not whether “two normal ears are better than one”, but rather, “are two hearing impaired ears coupled to two hearing aids better than one?” An Opportunity Advanced, and Then Questioned Better auditory spatial organization, andĮarly research had shown that two normal ears perform better than one.Who would have thought!Įarly observations and investigations (from about 1790 to the mid 1970s) summarized binaural listening advantages, 1 such as: Positions taken in the early years pitted the hearing aid dispenser, in favor of binaural amplification, against the audiologist, who questioned the efficacy of binaural hearing aids. However, this was not always the case, and the road to binaural took a circuitous route populated with hearing professional reversals, much like navigating Lombard Street on the Russian Hill in San Francisco. The majority of hearing aids worn today are binaural (two ears), rather than monaural (one ear). His perspectives are balanced and always well thought out. Wayne Staab, PhD ( Trends) was one of the first audiologists to work with manufacturers back in the 1970s and has a wealth of both historical and current knowledge.
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