If you have hearing loss and you have been putting off getting a hearing aid, you’re doing yourself a disservice. We have come a long way since the time of those poorly effective behind-the-ear hearing aids. These days, modern hearing aids are so effective, practical, and discreet – they can not only improve a person’s hearing but actually push it over the baseline.
Hearing aids have become so sophisticated and useful that they’re not just meant for people with hearing loss anymore. There are people with normal hearing that rely on these technological wonders to augment their ability to discern audio over astounding distances or perceive sound at nearly superhuman capacity.
Many people who work in fields related to audio engineering sometimes rely on hearing aid technology as a way to achieve the best possible sound quality these days. Given their small size and the fact that they fit snugly into your ear canal, people won’t be able to tell if you’re using hearing aid technology.
The anatomy of digital hearing aids
In general terms, all hearing devices work very much the same – by creating an interface between the outer environment and your inner ear. There are usually four components in a hearing aid: a microphone (that takes sounds into the device), a processor (which takes the sound, augments its fidelity, and filters out the background noise), a receiver (that sends the improved sound to your inner ear), and a battery (which powers the equipment and is nowadays usually rechargeable.
Modern hearing aids are all very compact and discreet. They’re available in the following colors, some of which are meant to match the skin tone of the user to remain more conspicuous. Aesthetics do matter, but it’s the inside of the hearing aid that is paramount.
Not all digital hearing devices are the same from a technical standpoint, and generally speaking, off-the-counter generalist models tend to be much less effective than anything an audiologist will prescribe.
The astounding development of hearing aid technology
The functionality of these devices can vary tremendously depending on the quality of their components, especially the audio processor. Some of the most advanced processors will include a feature called a telecoil (or tcoil). That’s a wireless feature that is able to pick up electromagnetic signals from other devices (like phones) or from looped rooms (such as public performances, worship services, tours, and exhibits). While tcoils are not a recent innovation, they are the common denominator of a high-quality hearing aid, since it allows filtering out unwanted sounds as well as augmenting the quality of the key audio signal.
In any case, it’s worth keeping in mind that even the lower-end devices now available are far superior to even top-of-the-line medical equipment from just a few years ago.
Assistive listening devices have progressed tremendously in recent years. There are now entry-level devices that deliver superior results than cochlear implants, and there are digital hearing devices that can work in tandem with implants to produce miraculous results. They deliver pristine sound quality and have built-in noise reduction features, directional microphones, rechargeable batteries, and Bluetooth connectivity.
Your hearing aid bridges the gap between your ear and your smartphone
These medical devices provide assistive technologies that are fully integrated with modern equipment. It’s fairly normal to connect your hearing device to your smartphone to adjust its features on-the-fly and keep track of the battery. Some devices also offer Bluetooth connectivity as an added way to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. This usually involves an intermediary device, but it allows for superior sound quality since your smartphone (for example) will be able to send audio directly to the audio processor in your hearing device and from there to your cochlear implant (if you happen to have one).
Technology levels are so advanced that some digital hearing aids actually rely on artificial intelligence by tapping into a deep neural network to achieve superior quality sound processing, which actually keeps improving over time. This is a game changer for people who suffer from sensorineural hearing loss since it allows modern hearing devices to effectively fill the perceptual gaps created by the underlying condition, rather than merely increasing the sound volume.
If you think you could benefit from a hearing aid, one of the first steps is getting a hearing test. If you live in the United States, this is something that will usually be performed by a healthcare professional called an audiologist. Once this is done, they will be able to suggest the best digital hearing aid for your particular case.