Hearing aids in the new age of technology
Hearing aids in the new age of technology
Hearing aids are a simple, small gadget, which can effectively deal with the problem of hearing loss. Hearing loss is an issue troubling many people these days and aging is not the only factor contributing to the problem. There is also a lack of a proper diet, poor health regime, and exposure to high intensity sounds. Even a few medicines can lead to a loss of hearing. So if you feel you are unable to interpret the sounds of your surroundings, as well as you used to, refer yourself for a hearing aid test. Hearing aid tests will help you understand the extent of the damage and thus define the type of hearings aids needed. If however the hearing aid tests reveal that inner ear is damaged, even hearing aids will not be able to solve the problem.
Assuming that the damage is not so severe, you may like to know as much about these handy electronic instruments: hearing aids are simple devices, which can be worn inside the ear or behind it. Either way, they perform the same function i.e. the hearing aids make the sound clearer for the person using them.
Conventional hearing aids function as per the analogue technique. Herein, sound waves are converted into electrical waves and all sounds are amplified equally. In this case, the user has to make adjustments as per sound. The latest technology is digital hearing aids. Digital hearing aids rely upon exact calculations to transmit the sound. The high quality sound produced by digital hearing aids is quite accurate and does not rely upon adjustments from the user end.
From technology, now focusing on the types of hearing aids, there are a number of varieties available.
The first variety is behind the ear aid. These hearing aids come with a case and a plastic ear-mold. The former is worn behind the ear, while the custom earmold fits to the inside of the outer ear. It is through the earmold that the sound is delivered to the ear. The behind the ear hearing aids are quite durable and are in the category of cheap hearing aids, thus quite suitable for children. Precisely because this behind the ear type is in the category of cheap hearing aids, it is also economical to get a new hearing made as the child grows.
The next variety is in the ear' hearing aids. The size is customised as per the user and as the name suggests, these hearing aids fit inside the ear. Earlier these aids were not suggested for children as they require replacement with growth and were expensive. But now thanks to cheaper silicone material used in manufacturing in the ear hearing aids, even these ones classify as cheap hearing aids and economical enough for children.
The canal variety is the next style. These hearing aids have the speaker placed inside the ear canal and there are no electrical wires, like in the conventional types discussed above. The sound is better and the hearing aids are almost hidden, thus offering enhanced visual appeal. However children might face problems adjusting with the canal variety. Also in case of severe hearing impairment, other styles of hearing aids are preferred. Additionally there is also the option of extended wear hearing aids. Professionals place these non-surgically in the ear canal for a fixed period of time.
In conclusion, consultation with a professional will help provide guidance as to the correct hearing aid that is needed for the individual because there are a variety of hearing aids available for the user.
New technologyl hearing aids
A lot of research has happened over the years in the domain of hearing aids. The effort has yielded desired results and thus the latest ones i.e. digital hearing aids are of an enhanced quality than earlier versions.
Hearing loss is not a recently discovered issue and nor are analogue or digital hearing aids freshly invented gadgets. Both the problem and solution have existed for years. However with technological advancements and medical progression, the look and performance of the solution i.e. hearing aids have undergone radical modifications.
There was a time when sound was amplified with the use of huge ear trumpets. Not very useful the ear trumpets and they were eventually replaced by electrical hearing aids. The initial ones were quite bulky and obviously not as technically sophisticated as to what we have today. Owing to intensive research and advancements in the field, both these drawbacks have been successfully taken care of. The latest hearing aids are the digital hearing aids. At their best they are accurate when it comes to sound quality, are compact, and automated. However before further elaborating upon the digital technique and associated features, it is important to know about the other most popular option, the analogue hearing aids.
The analogue hearing aids catch the sound waves converts them into electrical signals sends the converted signals to the amplifier the amplifier works on the power of the signals, i.e. increases it and finally the amplified signal is sent to the ear. This mechanism treats all sounds at par i.e. all sounds are amplified equally. So if somebody is talking with you and at the same time the television set is switched on and two or more people are interacting with each other, the analog hearing aids will send all signals at equal power. So you will have all sounds coming in, with equal intensity. However because this is obviously not desired, the user has the option of making adjustments. The user can adjust the sound volume. It can be like setting a different volume for different channels, depending upon the preferences. But then hearing loss is not just volume and such adjustments are not always convenient, so the need mandated further research.
Digital signal processing was thus introduced in 1987. The earliest versions of the digital hearing aids were expensive and bulky and needed more batteries than usual. Cheap hearing aids thus prevailed and the digital substitutes were more or less rejected. But that was not the end of digital technique in hearing aids. The mechanism was reintroduced about a decade later, now with enhanced features and usability. Since then digital hearing aids have grown in popularity.
The digital technology has one major advantage over the analogue variant. The digital hearing aids can distinguish between speech and background noises. Thus the sounds are filtered, to ensure better hearing. The filtering function suppresses the additional sound in a noisy environment. This largely happens because digital hearing aids do not convert signals into electrical signals, but instead change them into numerical codes, before amplifying. This mechanism is more accurate than the one in the case of analogue technique. A sound pitch is clearly identified in this conversion type, which enables specific amplification of all incoming sounds. The digital mechanism itself adjusts to the listener's environment. Further the chip installed inside digital hearing aids, also makes adjustment as per the user's hearing loss.
Though digital hearing aids cannot be classified as cheap hearing aids, in comparison to analogue hearing aids, but they are clearly more useful. So if you are planning to have hearing aid tests done, do ask your doctor about the types available and the best for your situation.
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