Digital Hearing Aids - Will they give you back your hearing?

All Hearing Aids are designed to help the person with some hearing loss to have greatly improved hearing. There are two types of Hearing Aids, Analogue or Digital, depending on how the sound is amplified. Digital Hearing Aids are similar to Analogue in that they both have a microphone which collects the sound waves in the air and coverts them into electrical energy. This electrical energy is amplified and fed into a small speaker which converts the amplified electrical energy back into sound waves to feed into the ear channel to energise the ear drum.

Digital Aids differ from Analogue in that the amplifying part of the process is carried out digitally, which converts it into `bits` of data by a tiny computer type chip in the Hearing Aid. These `bits` which represent the sound are then analysed and manipulated by a process called Digital signal processing. Software is then used to carry out precise changes to the `bits` of information such as reducing the amplification of background noise. These electrical `bits` of information are then fed to a minute microphone and converted back into sound, which is fed into the ear channel to act on the eardrum.

As hearing loss can be very different in sufferers, it is most important that the Digital Hearing Aid is configured to exactly compensate for the individuals needs. The first step in providing the correct Aid is to find out what particular hearing loss the sufferer has. A hearing test should be carried out by an audiologist who will determine the level of hearing over a wide range of frequencies producing an audiogram – a chart of your hearing responses. With these results the Digital Hearing Aid can be set up to compensate for the loss of hearing in particular areas. It is also possible the Hearing Aid may be set up to just allow the sufferer to hear voices and restrict any other sounds etc.

Some Digital Aids have also a built in circuit that will protect the ear from very loud sounds which could cause damage. Others also have facilities for suppressing Tinnitus in the ear. It can be seen that a Digital Hearing Aid will help with hearing loss giving greater control of what can be heard and what is not wanted. However, it is most important to understand that no Hearing Aids will give you back normal hearing and also it will also take a little while get used to the new sounds reaching the ear.

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