Q&A

Q: Why do I have trouble telling where sounds come from when I put on my hearing aids?

A: Try this experiment: Put your index fingers in the bottom part of your ears, down in the bowl, but not blocking the ear canal. Now close your eyes and try to locate a sound source, perhaps someone talking. You can't do it, can you? That's the main problem with localizing sounds with a hearing aid blocking the outer portion of the ear. The mechanical structure of the ear helps you locate sounds.

Two newer types of hearing aids help minimize this problem: completely-in-the-canal (CIC) aids and hearing aids with directional microphones. CIC hearing aids fit deep down in the ear canal and do not block the outer ear. This prevents the loss of directionality that many hearing aids cause. Some newer hearing aids have two microphones, one looking behind the head and one omnidirectional. When the wearer wants to focus on sounds in front of him, he turns on the directional feature which subtracts the sounds coming the back, dramatically increasing the directionality of the hearing aids. Phonak, Widex, Starkey and Siemens are some of the brands of hearing aids that have multiple microphones to provide directionality.

People who have just one working ear, or who choose to get just one hearing aid, also have problems with sound directionality.