With SSHL in one ear do I need two aids?

Hearing Aids
#1

I’ve recently enjoyed the wonders of SSHL in my left ear which the audiogram shows a slope from mild to severe hearing lost as we move up the through the frequencies. The upshot is that I cannot make out speech unless I’m in a quiet place and whoever is talking is standing to my right.

My right ear is mostly fine, with just a small amount of loss, the level I would expect for my age (mid-fifties) and previous lifestyle (shooting, putting on concerts, running a nightclub) and now playing in a brass band).

Do I need two hearing aids, Boots say yes, another private audiologist says no, as my right ear is fine.

I’ve got a pair of Phonak Audéo Lumity L90 on trial from Boots, but for my situation, is there any point in this level of technology and would one aid suffice?

My main needs are hearing speech in noise (my kids when I’m cooking, my colleagues when I’m in an open plan office and clients in meetings or a test garage EVs, so no engine noise, just lots of echos of hard surfaces) I would also like to be able to hear friends and family speak in pubs and restaurants.

I also live connected via Bluetooth, MS Teams calls most of the day, streaming audiobooks.

Would a single Sony CRE-E10 be fine, a single Lumity or equivalent in one ear or other single ITE device in my left ear. I just feel a bit double glazing salesman’d in Boots.

How do I upload my audiogram.

#2

Click on FORUM at top of page, then My Hearing Tests. Data needs to be entered manually.
Speech in noise is one of the hardest nuts to crack. One aid vs two? I don’t know. You’ve got a pair already, try it with just one and see what you think. Do the L90s do what you need? If not, you might want to ask when they’ll get the Phonak Audeo Infinio Sphere. Unfortunately only you can determine what will work for you.

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#3

Do you notice a meaningful functional difference wearing one versus two? You’ve got them to try.

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#4

My husband had the same issue, significant hearing loss in one ear, mild in the other, and he insisted on only using a single aid for a couple years. When we finally persuaded him to begin using two (because he didn’t hear nearly as well as he thought he did with one), he admitted it was a different ballgame. I can’t evaluate an audiogram, but I can tell you I think there is value in having both devices, tuned and communicating. I wear aids now and my left ear is worse than the other, but sound is far richer and nuanced, it is easier to understand conversation, when I have both aids in (I also have trimengial neuralgia in one ear and sometimes I can’t wear one of the aids). I am a huge audiophile–I exchange rare recordings with friends, go to live music venues–and my hearing aids have made an astonishing difference in my enjoyment of same and also in my day to day communication. Most importantly, I don’t have to struggle to hear as I did previously, and that alone is worthwhile. If you feel a single aid will give you what you need, then go for it. But if you can, trial two properly tuned aids for a period of time and then see how it feels to only correct the one ear.

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