Hearing aid technology has significantly improved over the past few decades. At their core, hearing aids consist of four basic parts:
- Microphone: picks up the sounds in your environment and passes it to the processor
- Processor: enhances the signal and delivers it to the receiver
- Receiver: delivers the amplified signal to the ear canal
- Power source: (often a battery) which drives the system
The digital age has transformed these essential parts. Today most hearing aids are digital, meaning the signal picked up by the microphone is converted from analogue to digital before being processed, then converted back from digital to analogue before the receiver delivers the enhanced signal into the ear canal.
The bulk of hearing aid technology resides in the processor, and the degree of its sophistication determines the technology level of the hearing aid:
- Basic hearing aid technology
- Advanced hearing aid technology
- Superior technology
BASIC HEARING AID TECHNOLOGY
Basic digital hearing aids generally require you to make some manual adjustments in certain listening situations but have limited adjustments available to fit unusual patterns of hearing loss. They are also less capable of being customised and less automated. Basic digital hearing aids include the following features:
- Channels – The number of channels represents the number of discrete sections that you can use for processing different parts of the incoming sound signal – the more channels in a hearing aid, the greater the flexibility in programming.
- Directional microphone systems – Directional microphone systems give a boost to sounds coming from in front of the wearer and reduce sounds coming from other directions, improving the understanding of speech when there’s background noise.
- Digital noise reduction – Digital noise reduction systems analyse the signal to determine if it contains unwanted noise and reducing it if detected. This makes background or environmental noise less annoying and increases listening comfort.
- Impulse noise reduction – Impulse noise reduction improves listening comfort by detecting any transient loud noises, such as car keys rattling or typing on a keyboard, and instantly softening them.
- Feedback management systems – Feedback management systems combat the inevitable feedback (whistling) that occurs in a hearing aid.
- Telecoil – A telecoil is a wireless feature that picks up electromagnetic signals from compatible telephones or looped rooms, making public performances, tours, exhibits, and worship services more accessible to individuals with hearing loss.
- FM compatibility – Frequency modulation (FM) compatibility is a wireless feature that enables hearing aids to connect with FM systems. This is especially important when selecting hearing aids for children because these systems are commonly used in educational settings to ensure that the teacher’s voice is heard above the clamour of the classroom.
ADVANCED HEARING AID TECHNOLOGY
As the level of technology increases, hearing aids become more automatic and have more features to help you communicate in difficult listening situations. Each major hearing aid manufacturer offers several levels of advanced digital technology. More advanced technologies translate to higher price points for hearing aids and greater benefits. The following features are more likely to be offered in advanced hearing aids:
- Bluetooth compatibility – A wireless feature that enables hearing aids to connect to mobile phones and other devices that use Bluetooth, often through an intermediary device.
- Wind noise reduction – A technology that detects the impact of the wind blowing across the hearing aid microphones and avoids or reduces the amplification of it, making a world of difference for those who spend time enjoying outdoor hobbies, like golfers and boaters.
- Data logging – A feature that stores data about the listening environments in which you wear your hearing aids and your preferences for programs, volume levels, and other features. It can be accessed by healthcare professionals to customise your hearing aid fitting further.
- Learning features – A feature that “learns” your preferences by logging volume control settings and program preferences for specific sound environments, so the hearing aids can make these changes automatically when the environment is detected, reducing your need to make manual adjustments.
- Binaural processing – When a pair of hearing aids communicate wirelessly with each other, mimicking the brain’s ability to process information coming from both ears, helping reduce manual adjustments, most commonly used to keep hearing aids operating synchronously.
SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY
- Own voice processing – This enables the wearer’s own voice to sound normal by adjusting the amount of amplification provided for their voice.
- Artificial Intelligence – Health monitoring, fall detection (this feature will alert a family member or friend if you fall), language translation, level of cognitive engagement, and fitness tracker.
- Speech in noise understanding – Technologically superior hearing aids can determine who you want to listen to and make that person’s speech clearer, leading to enhanced speech understanding in noisy environments.
