Hearing aid technology is constantly improving, and new products are being introduced all the time. To understand what your loved one needs, you first must know how a hearing aid works.
A hearing aid has three basic parts: a microphone, amplifier, and speaker. The hearing aid receives sound through a microphone, which converts the sound waves to electrical signals and sends them to an amplifier. The amplifier increases the power of the signals and then sends them to the ear through a speaker. The hearing aid can be "programmed" on a computer to customize the amplification specifically for your hearing loss.
Here are some of the newest advances in hearing aid technology that you can discuss with your audiologist:
"Open fit" aids – A common complaint among people with hearing aids that fit into their ear is that they hear distractions, such as an echo when they speak; or hearing themselves chew. A new class of hearing aids addresses this issue. Called "open fit" aids, these hearing aids sit behind the ear, with only a wire and tiny loudspeaker going into the ear.
Digital feedback reduction – New hearing aids have good feedback reduction, to reduce or eliminate another common hearing aid complaint: whistling noises.
Digital noise reduction – Using complex algorithms, this feature is making hearing aids "smarter" and able to tell the difference between speech and background noise.
Directional microphones – The directional microphone allows the user to focus on whoever is directly in front with reduced interference from conversations behind and to the sides.
Automatically adaptive – With this technology, the hearing aid changes the way it works when the user walks from one place to another. The hearing aid detects sounds exceeding a certain loudness level, and then self-adjusts to reduce the amplification. For example, in a quiet place, volume level will increase. In a noisy environment, directional mics will kick in as well as noise reduction features.
Bluetooth compatible – The user doesn't have to hold the cell phone up to their ear – which alleviates the feedback some people hear when they answer the phone. When a call comes in, it rings through the hearing aid itself, instead of ringing from the phone. To answer, the wearer simply presses a button.