In today's modern society, the world around us is full of loud and unnatural sounds. It's to be expected, therefore, that many people will experience a reduction in their hearing abilities. Research shows that residents of big cities are liable to notice a decrease in hearing relatively early in life. Such high noise levels can cause considerable damage to the ears. Fortunately, people who have hearing problems can improve their outlook with the help of modern hearing aids. They may not regain 100 percent of their ability to hear even with the use of state of the art . But the good news is that these people may now hear well enough to function normally. Hearing aids have changed a lot since the days of the body worn hearing aid. This bulky device contained an ear mold, a cord and an amplification pack. To use it, you needed to put on the ear mold, which was attached by a cable to the amplication unit. The amplification system was worn on a belt or stuffed in the pocket. Fortunately, things have improved a lot over the years. Today we have the behind the ear (BTE) devices which are small enough to be almost imperceptible to the casual observer. Studies show that BTEs can be used even by people who have profound hearing problems. And the technology keeps getting better and better. These days you can get BTEs that utilize very fine tubes to enhance your hearing ability. Those who are uncomfortable with the idea of a hearing aid find this style more acceptable since you can hardly see it. The latest technology gives you the option of switching your hearing aid to different modes. For instance, if you want a friendly conversation with somebody, you set your hearing aid to quiet mode. Conversely, you can enhance your pleasure in listening to music by activating the music mode. Hearing aids generally have three basic parts, the microphone, the speaker and the amplifier. However, some hearings aids also have specialty features that improve your hearing experience considerably. These include digital noise and feedback reduction, directional microphones and automatic adaptation to sound levels. Discuss the various choices that are available to you with your doctor so that you can benefit from the latest technology. You'll have to take some tests to find out how severe your hearing problems are. These days, specialists have access to highly advanced technology to help them make a diagnosis. Therefore, it won't be long before you can once again experience the pleasure of good hearing.
In recently years the assistive listening devices marketplace has been flooded with a huge number of new offerings in the way of digital hearing aids. At last count there were more than 40 different makes and models of these digital hearing devices that are manufactured by no less than twenty different manufacturers. And, while the popularity of digital hearing technology is unquestionably rising, many are left to wonder if digital is a better choice over analogue.
There is no question that we live in an era when most things that are digital are considered to be "state-of-the-art." However, not everyone is convinced that digital necessarily equates with better, as seems to be a common assumption among many people. There are many people who claim that digitized hearing aids, while advantageous in many ways, are not necessarily always the best choice for everyone.
The first digital hearing aids were made available in the mid-eighties by two different manufacturers of hearing aids. Their units were the first to meld digital signal processing, known as DPS, with hearing aid products creating a cutting edge hearing device. However, these hearing aids were rather large, to accommodate the DPS, and therefore never gained in popularity.
About a decade later, two different manufacturers of hearing solutions reintroduced digitized hearing aids to the marketplace and this time they were much better received. This is because technology had advanced to the point that the DSP could be integrated into many of the most popular styles of these devices, including the behind the ear and in the ear hearing aids.
Even though these new digital aids were more expensive than their analogue cousins, they still enjoyed almost immediate popularity among hearing healthcare clinicians and also among consumers. This almost instant acceptance and success, combined with a promise of even more advanced signal processing in the future, quickly assured the marketplace that digital hearing aid technology had finally "come of age."
But, the question still lingers for many: is the quality of the sound from digital hearing aids really better than the analogue versions? The answer really lies in the processing abilities that the digital technology provides and from that aspect the answer in a firm yes.
The experts say that digital hearing technology is not superior simply because it is digital. The advantage comes from the fact that the DSP give the manufacturers, the clinicians and the end users so many features and options for enhancing sound that analogue devices simply cannot deliver.
A few of the many advantages of digitized hearing aids over the analogue models include such things as: gain processing, which helps to lessen background noise while isolating conversational sounds; digital feedback reduction (DFR), which significantly reduces incidence of annoying, and often painful, feedback from the unit; digital noise reduction, which also helps eliminate background noise; digital speech enhancers; and, directional microphones. All of these features are virtually non-existent in analogue hearing aids.
Many experts in the hearing aid industry consider this era of advancements in digital hearing aids to be a very exciting time and they also expect that there will be additional breakthroughs and advancements in the years to come. As the digital technology continues to make better hearing available to more people, it is predicted that eventually digital hearing devices will completely eliminate the use of analogue aids.
Both Sam Katz & Mike Selvon are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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