Whether you know it or not, recent research shows that you have! The human brain is an amazing and adaptable computer system that is constantly changing. It was once thought that a baby was born with all the brain cells it would ever have or need. Now, we know that our brain undergoes an adaptation process throughout our lives that scientists call neuroplasticity. Research indicates that the human brain continuously prunes out neurons that are no longer being used, a process called arborization, and grows new neurons where they are needed, another process called neurogenesis.

So, what does all this big talk have to do with hearing aids? First, it helps us to better answer the age-old question, "Can't I just try one hearing aid first and see if that works?" Well, it seems that humans were designed with two ears for several good reasons, including the ability to locate a sound and the ability to hear in the presence of background noise. We actually hear with our brains... the ears are just the funnels that collect the sound and send it up for processing. The neurons that connect the ears to the brain form a vast and complicated network that crosses over from one ear to the opposite side of the brain, and back again. Therefore, if you choose to use just one hearing aid when you need two, you are only stimulating a portion of the brain needed to process sound and putting yourself at risk for some unwanted neural pruning.

Another implication of these research findings indicates that waiting "until your hearing gets bad enough for hearing aids" when you actually need them now, may set you up for failure with hearing aids in the future. A study done in 2001 by Futai, et al., showed that stimulation of the brain by sound regulates and improves the neurons' abilities to efficiently transmit the signals over time, whereas a lack of sound stimulation decreases the transmission efficiency. It's that old "use it or lose it" theory. The human brain makes use of what it gets and prunes out the rest.

The bottom line is that if you are not hearing properly, your hearing needs to be enhanced now and from both ears. Waiting too long for help and deciding to help only one ear can cause neuroplasticity changes in your central auditory nervous system that you may regret later. Ask an audiologist today how you can get help to make the most of the hearing you have!