Main Features of a Digital Hearingaid

A digital hearing aid contains a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip that allows

the hearingaid to be programmed for a variety of hearing loss conditions. It is fitted either within the ear canal or behind the ear. A digital hearingaid picks up sound through one or two directional microphones, processes it through an amplifier, then after processing in the DSP chip, sends it to the receiver which amplifies the sound for the eardrum.

Capabilities of Digital Hearing Aids

Common features of digital hearingaids are:

Noise Reduction

Digital hearing aids are able to filter unwanted sounds from the dialog and conversations in a room allowing the hearingaid wearer to hear conversations without being drowned out by other noises. In addition, digital hearing aids have loud noise cutoff circuitry for sudden and unexpected noises. If a loud noise such as a loud bang is picked up by a digital hearing aid, it will immediately stop the sound from reaching the eardrum.

Feedback Reduction

When two electronic devices come close to each other, or if a hearing aid volume control is turned up too high, there is often a whistling feed back which can be very annoying. Circuitry in digital hearingaids minimizes this annoying feature.

Directional microphones

Directional microphones are designed so that more amplification is directed to a certain location relative to the hearing aid wearer. For example, some hearing aid microphones are designed to amplify sounds sixty percent from wherever the head is facing, twenty percent to the side, and twenty percent behind. In such a configuration, when the hearing aid wearer is speaking to someone, they are getting the optimal directional microphone amplification because they are facing them.

Flexible Programmability

Every person's hearing loss is unique and digital hearing aids allow a hearing aid to be programmed from a hearing test result. If the person needing a hearing aid has his audiogram (hearing test results), a hearing aid vendor can optimize the programming in the digital signal processing chip to rectify as much as possible, whatever hearing loss is present.

Environmental Settings

Many hearingaid manufacturers offer environmental settings or environmental programs so the hearing aid wearer can get the best use out of the hearing aid. From a simple button or toggle switch on the hearing aid, the user can optimize the hearing aid amplification to, say: normal listening, speaking on the telephone, watching television, or for restaurants and noisy places.

Main Features of a Digital Hearingaid

By: Article Expert

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