Sound captured by a first microphone proximate to a severely-impaired first ear is processed to compensate for the hearing loss of the other, less-impaired second ear and then provided to the second ear through a sound transducer or speaker located inside or adjacent the second ear. The same sounds picked up by the first microphone are processed differently for the first and more severely impaired first ear and then provided to the first, severely-impaired ear through its own transducer. Sounds captured by a second microphone proximate to a less-impaired second ear are processed according to the second ear impairment and provided into the second ear by the second and different transducer for the second ear.