How Hearing Aids Help

All hearing aids have the same basic technologies as all vehicles have tires, batteries, and brakes. However, regardless of technology level or brand, signal classification systems, multiple channels of compression, complex noise reduction algorithms, automated directional microphone technology, and types of wireless capabilities are significantly different.

Hearing aids alter the sounds that enter the damaged auditory system. A practitioner finds the best combination of signal processing, manipulating these sounds for the best use of the remaining capabilities of the client’s auditory system. Modern hearing aids no longer simply make sounds louder or more audible. They represent the real-world dynamic acoustic landscape, reduce steady-state noise like refrigerators, computer fans noise and reduce listening effort.

Hearing aids help you to hear better by:

• Making sounds louder (amplification of sounds)
  • Environmental sounds can be perceived as soft, comfortable, and loud. Hearing aids have different fitting methods to increase soft, comfortable, or loud sounds for individuals with hearing loss, but when hearing aids imitate these sounds, they are still perceived as soft, comfortable and loud to listeners. That is achieved by amplifying soft sounds a lot, and loud sounds a little. For example, for people with mild loss, only soft sounds will be amplified.
• Making speech louder than background noise (Increasing speech-in-noise Ratio), partially separating speech from noise. Hearing aids can identify the type of noise and reduce the amplification of that frequency. Improving SNR leads to reduce listening effort.   
  • Every hearing aid uses two basic methods to deal with background noise: a directional microphone system which consists of two microphones on each hearing aid. When the directional microphone system is activated, the hearing aid focuses to the direction of sound pick-up forward to the interest. This means you hear loudest from the direction you are looking at, while sounds next to and behind you are suppressed.
  • Noise reduction systems analyze sound and determine if it consists of unwanted sounds. Noise has steady sounds and loudness doesn’t fluctuate over time (fan, water flowing). Speech sounds are changing in loudness all the time. The difference in loudness fluctuation allows hearing aids to differentiate between speech and noise.

Most consonants are not voices but:

• have a noise quality 
• have a period of silence 
• involve the nasal cavity  

It’s very challenging to separate them from noise with basic methods. Every manufacturer implements its own new innovations in hearing aids to improve SNR.

• Sound Classification:
  • The acoustic signals can be divided into 3 categories: speech, music, and noise. A hearing aid can change its mode of operation to process signals front  different categories in different ways.  For speech, the hearing aids promote mild and low frequencies. Low-frequency signal is a strong component of music and hearing aids can generate a full sound. For noise, hearing aids constantly modify repeatedly to increase and decrease pulsed sounds of noise.
• Reducing tinnitus 
• Reducing listening fatigue because with hearing aids the brain uses less energy to understand speech. 
• Dramatically improving hearing in wind noise: 
• Improving phone use by allowing you to hear landline calls in both ears  
• Improving Landline Phone use with T-coil  
• Assisting with Single-Sided Deafness  
• Hand-free mobile phone usage, access to remote microphones, and better television enjoyment.  

Hearing aids communicate with one another, improving sound localization and enabling the user to control both devices with a single touch to one device or remote control.

• Bluetooth streaming to the hearing aids from almost any sound source (including radio, TV, FM, smart phone, laptops, tablets, computers, dedicated sound systems, etc) provide a realistic dynamic acoustic landscape.  

 

Manufacturer combines and implements these technologies and features in its own unique ways.²