What Fitzie63 wrote about the brain losing speech recognition it wise!
Exactly that was explained to me by the neurologist and by an otologist- including general hearing loss. (They earn no money if I buy two devices versus one device. They are physicians & don’t sell hearing aids. Nothing financial for them to gain by advising two devices.)
Pretty much it sums up as: Treat both ears or lose some hearing functionality forever.
Note that if the hearing problem is in the brain, the devices do allow the brain to develop new neutopathways over a very, very long period of time. I have a few formerly silent sounds I can now hear without the devices. Not many- but some.
New York sounds like they are setting themselves up to pay for far more expensive cochlear surgery and devices. (Same as Medicare. They won’t pay for hearing aids, so many people skip getting them. Some time later, Medicare will end up paying for cochlear.) Thankfully for those who can’t afford devices, some private, often free, Medicare Part C plans pay at least something for hearing aids.