If you have just become aware that you have undergone some hearing loss or you have just become able to do something about your condition, you will need to be able to evaluate the various kinds of hearing aids. The National Association For The Deaf and your audiologist will be able to give you some advice, but it is always best to be able to do your own research as well.
Assuming that you are not going to want an ear trumpet, there are three main options: analogue, digital or hybrid hearing aids. The analogue hearing aid is the least expensive of the three and it works by picking up the sound with a microphone and amplifying it into your ear.
Then there is the half-way house hybrid which is known as the digital programmable or analogue programmable hearing aid. It is an analogue device, but it has programmable capabilities. It is modifiable by the use of computer software programming.
These functions permit you to customize the hearing aid to the surroundings that you are in at any time. For example, they can be made to be more or less responsive or to mask out certain frequencies like wind noise. They are more expensive than analogue hearing aids.
Digital hearing aids are by far the most pricey, but then the sound quality is greatly superior too. The diversity in sound quality is comparable to the difference between CD’s and vinyl records. This is accomplished with digital signal processing or DSP.
Digital hearing aids have different amounts of so-called channels. These channels relate to frequency bands. Not everyone loses exactly the same amount of the same frequencies, so if your digital hearing aid supports several channels, you can programme each channel to compensate precisely for your loss. One person may only have to adjust one or two channels, but others may need to modify quite a few of them.
Normal ‘behind the ear’ (BTE) hearing ears have a microphone that tends to emphasize sounds from behind the wearer, but a digital device has directional microphones so that you can switch on forward facing microphones too.
The digital hearing aids also have built in predetermined programmes for easiness of use. One click and your device is optimized for a loud environment, another click and it is optimized for the cinema. This is a very helpful feature.
Look for a ’smart’ function on your digital hearing aid. This facility remembers your most used settings so that when you change the battery, it automatically resets itself. This is another very useful function, given that you could have to replace the battery between once and seven times a week. Check how long the batteries are expected to last too.
Other features to look out for are capabilities to cut out ambient frequencies like wind, traffic and feedback. It is always useful to have some intelligence at your finger tips, when you go to talk to your audiologist or when you go shopping for your new hearing aid. Learn how to compare hearing aids for yourself.
Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on many subjects, but is at present involved with hearing aids comparisons. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Digital Hearing Aids Prices.