The world is going “digital” and everything in technology we use comprises of some sort of internal computerized system. Hearing aids are no exception. Within the last five years, digital hearing aids have become the dominant hearing aid available on the market today. Interestingly enough, the first digital hearing aids were introduced in the late 1980’s, but failed because there were still too many flaws and required very big, unsightly batteries that drained quickly. Fortunately, the technology has progressed and now they come in all style from behind the ear hearing aids to in the canal hearing aids. Exactly how though does the digital hearing aid work? Let’s take a brief look at the step by step process:
1) It receives the sounds which it receives from the microphone in the hearing aid, which then turns into binary code.
2) The binary code is deciphered and determines what the sounds are.
3) Once this is complete, it then amplifies the sounds accordingly as to not be too loud or too low.
One question people often ask is about feedback–how strong is it? The digital hearing aid actually minimizes the feedback received through a noise distinction process. Sound recognition is also a feature that has helped make the digital hearing aid the dominant hearing aid of the last five years. Before, analog hearing aids just amplified all the sounds and would cause much higher feedback noises. On the contrary, digital hearing aids actually adjust to distinguish different sounds so while it does have some feedback, it’s minimal.
Digital hearing aids have setting which the user can program–ideal for traveling since it can more easily adjust to the environment and new surroundings. It is no wonder why digital hearing aids are dominating the market–combating hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean analog hearing aids are gone. Realistically, they are more difficult to find and less patients use them–within a few years they will be completely off the markets.
Tags: digital hearing aid, digital hearing aids, hearing aid, hearing aids
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