I thought it would be worthwhile to document Frequently Asked Questions about the 2E1s that I get and my answers on here to help single sided deaf people with their own questions that they may have about the 2E1 headphones.
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I’m considering ordering headphones for my son. Do I go ahead and place the order and then email you with which ear has hearing loss afterwards?
Hello, you don't need to tell me what side you are deaf in when ordering since there is no Left or Right side orientation for the 2E1 stereo headphone. With my 2E1's, the side with the cable is the side with the two L/R drivers that are in one ear-cup.
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Hello, I managed to find your website and posts on reddit after searching for a potential solution for my situation.
I am completely deaf on my left side, I have been a gamer pretty much all my life, since I was 3. when I was 17 I lost my hearing to bacterial meningitis. at the time the doctors told me that there is no hearing nerve present anymore. they said that traditional hearing aids or even cochlear implants won’t work for that ear. they did suggest CROS hearing aids which I did try and they did give me the ability to detect sound direction. I did find they restricted the hearing on my good side and they did fall off a lot.
Because I have don't have the ability to locate sound I have always avoided playing games where this is needed. I have used things like Sonic Radar in the past to play games like DayZ, https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9n42q5xmcxms?hl=en-GB&gl=GB its kind of seen as a cheat though and only works with some games.
I have been exploring other solutions, a friend of mine has bone conduction earphones that he uses for the gym and he let me try them out, unfortunately they did not work at all.
So I'm wondering do you think one of your headsets would be able to help me? I would be looking for something that's Bluetooth and has a mic but happy to go with whatever you recommend. thanks for taking the time to read this and I am happy to answer any questions you might have.
Many thanks.
Thank you for asking about my 2E1 true stereo headphones I make for the single sided deaf community.
I am sorry that has happened to you. I am also now 100% nerve deaf in one ear from an acoustic tumor.
Regarding 2E1 that are Bluetooth, I make two models but they are more for using with a smartphone like when at the gym or jogging or commuting and I don't recommend them for gaming.
For single sided deaf gamers I developed three methods to sound locate with one ear as I describe on my website: https://2e1headphones.com/blogs/about-product/how-the-2e1-two-ears-in-one-true-stereo-headphones-for-the-single-sided-deaf-works-for-sound-locating-gaming-sound-cues-with-one-ear
Method One where you are using the spacing inside of my 2E1 (non vibrating) headphones of the left/right speaker drivers to figure out if sounds came from the left or right in a game. The way my 2E1 stereo works is that my design staggers the speaker drivers. Right speaker channel is down and closer to the ear so it sounds louder and the left speaker channel is up and staggered back so it sounds slightly fainter. You can do this proof of concept at home by placing headphones on your ear and then slowly pull it away from the ear and it will sound fainter.
This method takes some training of your hearing to pick up on L/R sounds when gaming but once you get a hang of it it comes naturally and makes all gaming and music sound great in stereo.
I try and make a 2E1 for all budgets but the best 2E1 (non vibe) headphone I make for Method One gaming is my 2E1 Pro Ears Ultra (this 2E1 model does not have a mic): https://2e1headphones.com/products/2e1-pro-ears-ultra-gel-folding
Method Two is pairing my 2E1 non-vibrating headphones (all my 2E1 headphones have left and right drivers in one ear cup) to my 2E1 Vibe Cues Belt so you can hear everything in a game in full stereo with one ear and the belt's left and right vibes on your body inform you of sound origins:
So you can use the non vibrating 2E1 headphones by themselves for Method One and when combined with the 2E1 Vibe Cues Belt to makes it Method Two.
Finally, there is Method Three which is my 2E1+Vibe headphone. The 2E1+Vibe headphone has both left and right drivers for your good hearing ear and a vibe for your deaf ear. I only make the 2E1+Vibe headphones by request for those who acknowledge they are 100% deaf in one ear (as you did) because the vibe is on the deaf ear (the hearing ear is not affected by the vibe). For this reason I do not sell my 2E1+Vibe headphones on my ecommerce site (https://2e1headphones.com/) so I can inform potential clients they need to be 100% deaf in one ear and thus I only take orders directly from my PayPal.
The way the 2E1+Vibe headphone works is if you hear a game sound and feel the vibe on your deaf ear the sound comes from your deaf side and if you hear a sound and feel no vibe the sound comes from your hearing side in the game (the hearing ear is unaffected by the vibe).
The 2E1+Vibe headphone is the closest thing to reproducing for me the ability to game with a headphone the way I did when I had two working ears. This does not have a mic but you can pair it with the Antlion ModMic. If you want to read more about the 2E1+Vibe headphone you can do so here: https://2e1headphones.com/blogs/about-product/the-2e1-vibe-haptic-vibrating-headphone-for-single-sided-deaf-gamers
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I am curious about your wireless Bluetooth with mic headphones for gaming, I play on PS5.
I am 90% deaf in my right ear, do you have a product that will work for me with gaming?
I have the Sony Pro headset, and my problem is that I need it louder than the max for my right ear, while the left is getting blasted, because its way to loud.
I would be awesome to get two sided sound for gaming again.
I had cholesteatoma Surgery, where they had to take cartilage from the ear and rebuild my ear drum since then I have really bad hearing loss, to where I have the loudest hearing aid that you can buy to hear.
Please let me know!! Thank you
Hello, I developed three methods to game while single sided deaf as I describe here: https://2e1headphones.com/blogs/about-product/how-the-2e1-two-ears-in-one-true-stereo-headphones-for-the-single-sided-deaf-works-for-sound-locating-gaming-sound-cues-with-one-ear
My 2E1 headphones bypass the bad ear in that they have both drivers in one ear-can for the good ear only.
My Bluetooth 2E1 are more for pairing with smartphones not for gaming.
For your hearing condition I can recommend pairing 2E1 headphones with my 2E1 Vibe Cues Belt. https://2e1headphones.com/products/2e1-vibe-cues-belt-audio-translated-as-directional-vibe-cues-for-deaf-hoh-gamers
This way you will hear everything in stereo to one ear with the 2E1 headphone (headphone model depending on your budget) and the vibe belt will vibrate left and right on your body informing you of sound origins.
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Dear 2E1 Team / Biblos_geek,
I hope you’re doing well. I’m interested in purchasing a 2E1 two in one headset and wanted to ask for your recommendation. I play competitive games where directional audio is crucial especially call of duty, being able to tell whether an opponent is coming from the left or right can make a big difference in performance. Since I only have hearing in one ear on my left with cochlear implant. I’m really curious how well your headsets perform for spatial awareness and which model would give me the best experience for competitive play. I’d also like to know if there’s a version with a built in mic because I like to speak my friends from PS5. Appreciate your help, and looking forward to your recommendation.
Hello and thank you for asking about the 2E1 system for single sided deaf spatial awareness in gaming.
I developed three methods to sound locate in game for the single sided deaf as I describe here:
I think for your situation Method Two is best where use my 2E1 Vibe Cues Belt that vibes left and right on your body to inform you of sound location:
You would need to pair it with a 2E1 headphone (I recommend the 2E1 Audiophile for use with a cochlear implant/hearing aid https://2e1headphones.com/products/2e1-audiophile)
So with audio setting set to two channel headphone stereo using the 2E1 Audiophile (which has both left and right drivers in one ear cup) you will hear all sounds in the game and the 2E1 Vibe Belt will vibe left and right on your body to inform you of sound origins of what you are hearing.
This solution will require a separate external mic which is simple enough to set up using something like the Antlion ModMic system. https://antlionaudio.com/collections/microphones/products/modmic-uni-2
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I am inquiring about your headsets. I am a team leader on the service desk at University of X.....X and one of my staff has recently suffered a head injury where he has lost hearing in one ear. As he is on the phones and headsets are not as affective as they once were I was wondering if you had a product that could help?
I can recommend my 2E1 Black Gold headset which has both left and right drivers in one ear cup. It has an inline microphone and a volume control slider (it does not have a mute function). This is the model I also personally use for zoom business calls, etc: https://2e1headphones.com/products/2e1-koss-porta-prohear-ltd-ed-black-gold-headset
My 2E1s are made to connect via a computers 3.5 mm jack to a combo TRRS port, so no USB connection or separate headphone and microphone connection.
Also, I make the Black Gold from converted passive noise blocking ear protectors so please keep office culture in mind concerning headsets that cover up the ears and block outside sounds (if worn the user may need to be tapped on shoulder to get their attention, etc,).
With that said, noise blocking may be a plus because being deaf in one ear makes hearing in an office environment difficult if not impossible so in my opinion is superior to headsets that have pads that sit on ear allowing for background noise to bleed through but I wanted to emphasize the office culture aspect of using passive noise blocking over-ear headsets in case that is an issue for your work environment.
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Hello. I’d love to purchase one of your products.
I lost the hearing in my right ear when I was 10 years old. I had an infection that apparently destroyed all the cilia in my inner ear - the cochlea. It was a type of nerve damage and instead of hearing any sound coming in, it is replaced with chronic tinnitus. It sucks. I’ve done several hearing tests and been to Massachusetts Eye and Ear and other hospitals in Boston. There is nothing they can do at this time as it is nerve damage but expect surgery to be a viable possibility in the future for someone like myself. But it’s not really an option for me at this time. The tests show that I do have a tiny bit of hearing of low sounds but it is a 95% hearing loss. As far as I’m concerned I’m deaf as in the normal world I can’t hear a thing.
I listen to a lot of music and hate the inability to hear stereo and just heard about your headphones. I see you have numerous options. Which would be the best match for me? Which headphones would work best for a music lover like myself?
Thank you so much for your time and help.
Since you mentioned you are looking to use my 2E1 for music listening and not gaming any of my 2E1 can work for you. I try and make a 2E1 for all budgets and uses. Do you have a budget in mind? How do you consume music? with your smartphone via Bluetooth or do you prefer to connect to pc or hifi system via a 3.5mm cable connection?
My 2E1 headphones bypass the deaf ear (it has a hollow vented ear-cup) and both left and right drivers are placed in the ear-cup for the good ear so you can hear the full stereo panning with one ear.
So my questions back to you is what is your budget and how do you prefer to listen to music? On the PC? Via the smartphone, etc.
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