Digital Hearing Aids
Some of the features in digital hearing aids today include:
Digital Noise Reduction
Noise reduction algorithms are presented within most hearing aids to help reduce background noise. If background noise interferes with your ability to hear comfortably, it is highly recommended that you consider a hearing aid that has noise reduction capabilities.
Digital Feedback Cancellation
Digital or acoustic feedback occurs in hearing aids when the microphone picks up the sound that is leaking from the output of the receiver. It is difficult to seal off the ear canal completely and for some patients, causes a hearing discomfort when the ear canal is completely sealed off. The sound leaking from the output of the receiver is continually being amplified after it is being picked up by the microphone, creating a feedback loop. This feedback loop can create an audible squeal or screech that emits from the hearing aid. Digital hearing aids have the technology to cancel and prevent distracting feedback.
Directional Microphones
Microphones that have directional capabilities allow the hearing aid to switch and change the microphone to the direction where speech is coming from. Directional microphones change depending on the characteristics of the environment. Directional microphones are ideal especially for patients having difficulty in noisy situations.
Binaural Signal Processing
Two hearing aids are not just better for speech understanding, but with two hearing aids, the ability to hear better in background noise and other complex situations will be increased. This is because of binaural processing, in which the hearing aids actually talk and communicate with each other to give you the clearest signal possible in your listening environment. Whether it is best for you to have one or two hearing aids will be determined by the audiologist.
Wireless Technology
Hearing aid technology can allow for you to hear the telephone, television, cell phone, radio, and computer more directly through your hearing aids. With wireless technology, patients no longer have to worry about turning up the television at uncomfortable listening levels for others in the room in order to hear. With wireless technology, there is no interference from outside environmental noises while you are on the phone. If you need to hear better in a classroom or meeting, you can also place a device on the table or on the speaker so that voices can be heard directly through your hearing aids. The possibilities are endless.
What type of hearing aid companies do we work with?
- Oticon – http://www.oticonusa.com/
- Widex – http://www.widexusa.com/
- Siemens – http://www.usa.siemens.com/answers/en/
- Phonak
- http://www.phonak.com/us/b2c/en/products/hearing_instruments.html
- Starkey- http://www.starkey.com/