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Does communication between left and right hearing aids really help?

Some expensive hearing aid brands offer wireless communication between hearing aids. the theory is that they can adjust the amplification levels correctly based on the relative location of the source and maintain the difference in sound levels between left and right ears. This is supposed to makes sound more natural and directional because brain has evolved for that type of difference in sound levels. I am very much interested in hearing it from people who have used hearing aids with and without this features. I have already read about it extensively.

Public Comments

1. Wireless communication between left and right hearing aids offers a couple different benefits: 1. Binaural sound processing: our brains are wired to process sounds coming into both left and right ears together. This binaural processing allows humans to localize sound based on timing differences of when the sound(s) reached the right versus left ear. When hearing aids are used, this natural localization phenomenon is often lost due to timing differences in the processing of sound between the two hearing aids. Now because the two hearing aids are essentially talking to one another, the processing/timing of the two hearing aids is the same - thus the natural sound's timing characteristics are not lost and we are still able to localize sound and have spatial awareness. Localization/spatial awareness not only allows us to identify the source of a sound but can aid in our ability to understand speech and other important environmental cues for safety. 2. Binaural synchronization: today's digital hearing aids have many advanced features such as noise reduction and speech enhancement algorithms, directional microphones (which activate to reduce background noise), anti-echo algorithms and many more. These advanced features automatically activate based on the environment and can change the perception of the sound within one's environment. All are very beneficial however if a hearing aid wearer is an environment with sound sources all around them, these advanced features may activate in one ear and not the other. With binaural synchronization (the two hearing aids talking to one another) the two hearing aids work together and the features are activated in both hearing aids. This provides balanced sound quality and allows the hearing aids to work together and at the same time to combat things like background noise. So yes wireless communication between hearing aids does help and it is the future of hearing aids. It is a feature worth investing in by spending a little extra money on. Most new digital hearing aids being sold by hearing aid manufacturers will begin to have this feature because it is so beneficial. In fact expect all future hearing aids to have wireless capabilities standard on hearing aids.
2. I have only worn aids without the feature. I can tell you it is a bit annoying when in a noisy environment one aid gets quieter (turning down noise) and you hear a difference between ears. Sound may not be quite loud enough to activate noise reduction feature on both aids if it is on one side of you. So I think the wireless communication feature would be nice if both aids were acting the same it would be less annoying to hear the different sounds from each ear. Also the ability to localize sound in the environment is supposed to be improved with the wireless feature. Good Luck!