4 Reasons to Upgrade Your Hearing Aids

Hearing Aids

When should I upgrade my hearing aids?

This is a frequent question we hear from our patients, and the answer demands some thought. While hearing aids ordinarily have a life-span of 3-7 years, there are several scenarios in which you may desire to upgrade sooner.

Here are 4 reasons you may want to consider a hearing aid upgrade.

1. Your hearing aids are no longer working well

If your hearing aids are not performing as effectively as they once did, the first thing to look into is cleaning or repair.

Hearing aids are exposed to earwax, humidity, and other particles, so your hearing aids may merely require a cleaning. In other cases, the electronics within the hearing aids need repair, but otherwise the hearing aids remain effective.

If your hearing aids are damaged beyond repair, on the other hand, or if they are beyond their regular life-span, you might want to upgrade to a new pair.

2. Your hearing needs are not being fulfilled

Let’s say you land a new job that necessitates a lot of speaking on the phone, which has regularly been a problem for you with your present hearing aids. You hear about a new kind of hearing aid that can stream calls wirelessly from your iPhone directly to your hearing aids, giving you clear sound that you can freely adjust. In this scenario, you may want to upgrade your hearing aids to satisfy your new hearing requirements.

It’s a smart idea to make a list of all the scenarios in which your existing hearing aids are not operating to your liking. Then, by speaking with a hearing specialist, you can discover the hearing aids that can better meet your requirements.

3. Your hearing has changed

Hearing can and does change through the years, and it’s possible that your present hearing aids, while initially sufficient, are now incapable of handling your hearing loss. If this is the situation, you will require a new hearing test and a new pair of hearing aids programmed to match your hearing loss.

4. You want to take advantage of the latest technology

Hearing aid technology is evolving rapidly; just 10 years ago it would have seemed like science-fiction to expect that you could stream music wirelessly from your iPod to your hearing aids. Every year, amazing new functionality is added to new hearing aid models, and you may find that you’d like to take advantage of the new technology.

For example, maybe you just bought a new Apple Watch and you learned that a few of the new hearing aid models are compatible. If you wish to control your hearing aids with the watch, you would need to upgrade to a appropriate model.


The decision to upgrade your hearing aids in the end comes down to answering two questions:

  1. Are my current hearing aids fulfilling all of my listening needs?
  2. Is there new technology or functionality that I would like to benefit from?

Hearing aid technology is advancing rapidly, and most of our patients are surprised to find out what the new hearing aid models are capable of. And the fact is, you can’t really answer the second question without knowing what’s available.

If you would like to know what some of your options are, give us a call today and we’ll explain to you all the available technology and how it could make your life better and easier. You might be surprised at what you discover.

How Insects are Revolutionizing Hearing Aids

Today’s hearing aids have come a long way; present models are highly effective and feature exceptional digital capabilities, such as wireless connectivity, that drastically enhance a person’s ability to hear along with their overall quality of life.

But there is still room for improvement.

Specifically, in some instances hearing aids have some challenges with two things:

  1. Locating the source of sound
  2. Eliminating background noise

But that may soon change, as the most current research in hearing aid design is being guided from a surprising source: the world of insects.

Why insects hold the key to better hearing aids

Both mammals and insects have the equivalent problem in terms of hearing: the conversion and amplification of sound waves into information the brain can use. What scientists are discovering is that the method insects use to solve this problem is in ways more powerful than our own.

The internal organs of hearing in an insect are smaller and more sensitive to a greater range of frequencies, enabling the insect to identify sounds humans cannot hear. Insects also can recognize the directionality and distance of sound in ways more exact than the human ear.

Hearing aid design has customarily been directed by the way humans hear, and hearing aids have tended to offer straightforward amplification of incoming sound and transmission to the middle ear. But researchers are now asking a completely different question.

Borrowing inspiration from the natural world, they’re questioning how nature—and its hundreds of millions of years of evolution—has attempted to solve the problem of detecting and perceiving sound. By analyzing the hearing mechanism of assorted insects, such as flies, grasshoppers, and butterflies, researchers can borrow the best from each to produce a brand new mechanism that can be put to use in the design of new and improved miniature microphones.

Insect-inspired miniature directional microphones

Researchers from University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, and the MRC/CSO Institute for Hearing Research (IHR) at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, will be testing hearing aids outfitted with a unique kind of miniature microphone inspired by insects.

The hope is that the new hearing aids will accomplish three things:

  1. More energy-efficient microphones and electronics that will ultimately result in smaller hearing aids, lower power usage, and extended battery life.
  2. The ability to more accurately locate the source and distance of sound.
  3. The ability to focus on specific sounds while reducing background noise.

Researchers will also be trying out 3D printing techniques to improve the design and ergonomics of the new hearing aids.

The future of hearing aids

For the majority of their history, hearing aids have been designed with the human hearing mechanism in mind, in an effort to replicate the normal human hearing experience. Now, by asking a different set of questions, researchers are building a new set of goals. Instead of attempting to RESTORE normal human hearing, perhaps they can AUGMENT it.

Questions to Ask Your Hearing Specialist Before You Buy Hearing Aids

Question Mark

When it’s time to purchase a car, the majority of us know exactly what to do. We do some research, compare options, and compose a list of questions to ask the dealership. We do this so that by the time we’re ready to stop by the dealership, we have an idea of what we’re looking for and we know which questions to ask.

When it’s time to purchase hearing aids, however, many people don’t know where to start. Even though the process is similar to purchasing a car, it’s also in many ways more complicated (and probably not quite as fun). It’s more complicated because each person’s hearing loss is distinct and each pair of hearing aids demands customized programming. If purchasing a car was like this, it would be like you taking it home and having to install the transmission yourself.

Luckily, you don’t need to know how to program your own hearing aids, but you do need to know the questions to ask to ensure that your hearing specialist covers all bases, correctly programming the most appropriate hearing aids for your preferences and lifestyle. In this manner, compiling a list of questions to talk about with your hearing specialist is the single most important thing you can do prior to your hearing test.

But which questions should you ask? Here are 35 to get you up and running, broken down by category:

HEARING LOSS

Specific kinds of hearing loss require specific types of treatment. The more you understand your own hearing loss, the better you’ll be able to evaluate hearing aid alternatives. You need to learn what form of hearing loss you have, if it will get worse, how soon you should treat it, and all of your treatment options.

Questions to ask:

  • What form of hearing loss do I have?
  • Do I have unilateral or bilateral hearing loss?
  • Can I have a copy of my hearing test?
  • Will my hearing loss get worse over the years if left untreated?
  • Will hearing aids improve my hearing?
  • How much of my hearing will hearing aids repair?
  • What are my other alternatives other than hearing aids?

HEARING AID STYLES AND FEATURES

Hearing aids are made in numerous styles, from multiple manufacturers, loaded with numerous features. You need a systematic way to narrow down your choices to assure that you get the proper hearing aid without spending money on features you don’t need or want.

Questions to ask:

  • How many different kinds of hearing aid styles do you offer?
  • Which hearing aid style is ideal for my requirements and lifestyle?
  • Which digital features would be relevant to me, and which could I do without?
  • What are telecoils and directional microphones and do I need them?
  • Do I need Bluetooth compatible hearing aids?
  • Do my hearing aids need to be professionally programmed?
  • Do I need one or two hearing aids, and why?

HEARING AID PRICES, FINANCING, WARRANTIES, AND TRIAL PERIODS

The total cost of a pair of hearing aids commonly includes the professional fees associated with custom fitting and programming, along with many other services or accessories. You want to make sure that you fully grasp what you’re receiving for the price, if financing is available, if insurance will help, what the warranty includes, the length of the trial period, and if any “restocking fees” apply to the end of the trial period.

Questions to ask:

  • What is the total price of the hearing aids, including professional services?
  • Do you provide any financing plans?
  • Will my insurance help pay for hearing aids?
  • How much will my hearing aids cost me each year?
  • Do the hearing aids have warranty coverage?
  • How much do hearing aid repairs cost after the warranty has ended?
  • Are repairs handled at the office or someplace else?
  • If my hearing aids have to be mailed out for repairs, are loaner hearing aids available?
  • Is there a trial period and how long is it?
  • Is there a restocking fee if I return my hearing aids during or after the trial period?

HEARING AID OPERATION, CARE, AND MAINTENANCE

Your hearing specialist should explain to you how to care for, clean, and operate your hearing aids. To make sure that nothing is missed, make sure all of these questions are answered:

Questions to ask:

  • How do I operate my hearing aids?
  • How do I use hearing aids with telephones and other electronics?
  • Can you show me how to use all of the buttons, features, and settings for my hearing aids?
  • What are environmental presets, and how do I access them?
  • Do I require a remote control, or can I use my smart-phone to operate the hearing aids?
  • What batteries do I need, how long will they last, and how do I replace them?
  • How should I clean and store my hearing aids?
  • Do I need to come back for follow-up visits?
  • How long will my hearing aids continue working?
  • Do I need to update the hearing aid software program?
  • Do I qualify for future hearing aid upgrades?

YOU’RE READY TO SCHEDULE YOUR HEARING TEST

Ok, so picking out a pair of hearing aids might not be as fun as buying a new car. But the quality of life you’ll achieve from better hearing might very well make you more happy, as you’ll reconnect with people and enjoy the intricacies of sound once again. So go ahead and book that hearing test — your new pair of hearing aids are waiting for a test drive.

The Digital Advantage: Analog Vs. Digital Hearing Aids

Digital Code

You’ve most likely been told that today’s hearing aids are “not your father’s hearing aids,” or that hearing aid technology is light-years ahead of where it used to be, even as recently as 5 to 10 years ago. But what makes today’s technology so much better? And what exactly can modern day hearing aids achieve that couldn’t be accomplished in the past?

The short answer is, like the majority of consumer electronics, hearing aids have benefited greatly from the digital revolution. Hearing aids have emerged as miniaturized computers, with all of the programming adaptability you would expect to see from a modern computer.

But before hearing aids became digital, they were analog. Let’s see if we can figure out why the shift from analog to digital was such an enhancement.

Digital vs analog hearing aids

At the simplest level, all hearing aids work the same way. Each hearing aid includes a microphone, amplifier, speaker, and battery. The microphone picks up sound in the environment, the amplifier strengthens the signal, and the speaker delivers the louder sound to your ear.

Fundamentally, it’s not very complex. Where is does get complex, however, is in the details of how the hearing aids process sound, which digital hearing aids accomplish much differently than their analog alternatives.

Analog hearing aids process sound in a relatively straightforward way. In three basic steps, sound is picked up by the microphone, amplified, and presented to the ear through the speaker. That is… ALL sound is made to be louder, including background noise and the sound frequencies you can already hear properly. Put differently, analog hearing aids amplify even the sounds you don’t want to hear — think of the scratching sound you hear from an analog recording on a vinyl record.

Digital hearing aids, in contrast, apply a fourth step to the processing of sound: transformation of sound waves to digital information. Sound itself is an analog signal, but instead of just making this analog signal louder, digital hearing aids first convert the sound into digital configuration (saved as 0s and 1s) that can then be altered. Digital hearing aids, therefore, can CHANGE the sound before amplification by changing the information saved as a series of 0s and 1s.

If this seems like we’re talking about a computer, we are. Digital hearing aids are effectively miniature computers that run one customized program that manipulates and improves the quality of sound.

Advantages of digital hearing aids

Most today’s hearing aids are digital, and for good reason. Seeing that analog hearing aids can only amplify incoming sound, and cannot alter it, analog hearing aids will usually amplify disruptive background noise, making it frustrating to hear in noisy environments and nearly impossible to talk on the phone.

Digital hearing aids, however, have the flexibility to amplify specific sound frequencies. When sound is converted into a digital signal, the computer chip can detect, label, and store specific frequencies. As an example, the higher frequency speech sounds can be labeled and stored separately from the lower frequency background noise. A hearing specialist can then program the computer chip to amplify only the high frequency speech sounds while suppressing the background noise — making it easy to follow conversations even in noisy environments.

Here are some of the other advantages of digital hearing aids:

  • Miniaturized computer technology means smaller, more discreet hearing aids, with some models that fit totally in the ear canal, making them practically undetectable.
  • Digital hearing aids tend to have more attractive designs and colors.
  • Digital hearing aids can be programmed by a hearing specialist to process sound in various ways depending on the setting. By changing settings, users can achieve ideal hearing for a range of situations, from a quiet room to a noisy restaurant to speaking on the phone.
  • Digital hearing aids can be fine-tuned for every patient. Each person hears different sound frequencies at different decibel levels. Digital hearing aids allow the hearing specialist to adjust amplification for each sound frequency based on the characteristics of each person’s distinctive hearing loss.

Try digital hearing aids out for yourself

Reading about digital hearing aids is one thing, trying them out is another. But keep in mind, to get the most out of any set of hearing aids, you require both the technology and the programming proficiency from an experienced, licensed hearing specialist.

And that’s where we come in. We’ve programmed and fine-tuned countless hearing aids for people with all forms of hearing loss, and are more than happy to do the same for you. Give us a call and experience the digital advantage for yourself!

Professional musicians at greater risk of developing hearing loss

Continuous exposure to loud music: that’s what can damage your hearing. Hearing loss starts with recurrent exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels (decibels being a unit used to measure loudness). This means musicians are at a very high risk, considering the high decibels found at a concert.

Check out these common activities:

Whisper at 6 feet: 30 decibels (dB)
Regular dialogue at 3 feet: 60 – 65 (dB)
Motorcycle: 100 dB
Front row at a rock show: 120 to 150 dB

A musician’s hearing is what is most predisposed to damage from the performance of their craft. Fame, wealth, and screaming fans — these are a couple of the terms and phrases you’d pick in order to summarize the everyday life of a professional musician. The terms “hearing loss” or “tinnitus,” signify the negative side-effects of all that glory, wealth, and screaming.
The culprit of all that hearing loss is recurring subjection to deafening noise. In the long run, loud noise will irreparably destroy the hair cells of the inner ear, which are the sensory receptors responsible for sending sound to the brain. Like an ample patch of grass worn out from frequent trampling, the hair cells can in a similar fashion be wiped out from repeated overexposure to loud noise – the dissimilarity, of course, being that you can’t grow brand new hair cells.

Signs of Hearing Loss

In reality, musicians are close to four times more likely to acquire noise-induced hearing loss in contrast with the average person, according to scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology. The scientific study also discovered that professional musicians are about 57% more likely to suffer from tinnitus — a disorder connected with a repeated ringing in the ears.

Unfortunately, musicians don’t see an audiologist until it’s too late and they experience:

A ringing or buzzing sound in the ears
Any pain or discomfort in the ears
Difficulty comprehending speech
Trouble following discussions in the presence of background noise

The trouble is, when these symptoms are present, the damage has already been done. So, the leading thing a musician can do to deter long-term, permanent hearing loss is to schedule an appointment with an audiologist before symptoms are present.
If you’re a musician, an audiologist can recommend custom made musicians’ plugs or in-ear-monitors that will give protection to your hearing without limiting your musical performance. As a musician, you have unique needs for hearing and hearing protection, and audiologists or hearing specialists are the professionals specifically trained to provide this custom protection.
Considering the unique requirements of musicians — as well as the significance of protecting the details of sound — the best road to take is to schedule an appointment with an audiologist.

How musicians, and fans, can protect their ears

Rock shows are literally ear-splittingly loud, and continued unprotected exposure can cause some considerable harm, which several popular musicians know all too well.
Chris Martin, the lead vocalist for the band Coldplay, has dealt with with Tinnitus for a decade. According to Martin:
“Looking after your ears is unfortunately something you don’t think about until there’s a problem. I’ve had tinnitus for about 10 years, and since I started protecting my ears it hasn’t got any worse (touch wood). But I wish I’d thought about it earlier. Now we always use moulded filter plugs, or in-ear monitors, to try and protect our ears. You CAN use industrial headphones, but that looks strange at a party.”
Other significant musicians that suffer from hearing loss or tinnitus include Neil Young, Ozzy Osbourne, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Bono, Sting, Ryan Adams, and more, many of which indicate regret that they hadn’t done more to take care of their ears all through their careers. Lars Ulrich from Metallica points out:
“If you get a scratch on your nose, in a week that’ll be gone. When you scratch your hearing or damage your hearing, it doesn’t come back. I try to point out to younger kids … once your hearing is gone, it’s gone, and there’s no real remedy.”

Even though musicians are at greater risk for acquiring hearing loss or tinnitus, they can slash their risk by taking protective measures. Plus, everyday folks who are subjected to loud environments should also seek protection.

Preventing work related hearing loss with high fidelity, custom-fit ear plugs

Everyday work-related activities have high decibel levels associated with them – not just for people who work in loud environments. For example, a power saw can reach 110 decibels, a newspaper press 97, a chain saw 120, a sporting event 105, and a jet takeoff 150. Musicians, production line workers, construction workers, airport staff, emergency workers, plumbers, and craftsmen are all likely to develop extreme hearing loss and tinnitus.
Did you know that 85 decibels is the noise intensity at which repetitive exposure can cause significant hearing damage?
Did you know that 100 decibels is the sound degree reached by a rock concert? Bad news for anyone who plays in a band or who likes to go see one.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says an amazing 30 million people in the U.S. are subjected to dangerous sound levels, representing one of the biggest occupational threats over the previous 25 years.

Work-related hearing loss impacts countless numbers

This is a story that’s been around the block a time or two, and it happens more than you think. Just take in the fact that in 2009 alone, there were 21,000 incidents of occupational hearing loss reported.
Kevin Twigg of Stockport, England understands all too well about the occupational hazards of loudness. That’s because he worked on evaluating and repairing law enforcement car sirens — which get to between 106 to 118 decibels — for more than 30 years.
After retirement, severe tinnitus set in along with severe hearing loss that mandated the use of hearing aids. Having failed to adopt the safety actions that would alleviate the noise levels, Twigg’s employer was found liable in court, losing a case in which Twigg won big.

4 reasons why you should choose custom-fit ear plugs over the off-the-shelf foam variety

Why are custom-fit ear plugs so much better than those cheap foam ear plugs? We explore the reasons:

1. avoidance of the “Occlusion Effect”
With foam ear plugs, the user will perceive a hollowed out or boomy sound in their voice when speaking, singing, or playing an musical instrument. This bothersome noise is referred as the “occlusion effect.”
Custom-fit ear plugs are molded to the ear, forming a deep seal that helps prevent this distracting sound.

2. conservation of sound quality
Common foam ear plugs muffle speech and music. By reducing noise mainly in the high frequency range, rather than in the mid-to-low frequency range, music and voices appear to be unnatural and indecipherable. Foam ear plugs also decrease sound by 30-40 decibels, which is excessive for the prevention of hearing damage.
Custom-fit ear plugs will minimize sound more evenly across frequencies while lowering sound volume by a lower decibel level, thereby maintaining the all natural quality of speech and music.

3. price & convenience
Custom ear plugs can last up to four years, almost always at a price tag of well under $100.
Let’s do some math on the disposable foam plugs:
$3.99 for 10 pairs equals $0.39 per pair
$0.39 per pair X 5 days per week X 52 weeks per year X 4 years = $405.60
With custom-fit ear plugs, you will certainly save cash in the long run and will avert all of those outings to the store. No one likes shopping for ear plugs, so while the initial visit to the audiologist seems like a pain, in the long run you will also conserve time.

4. preserving the environment
Throw-away ear plugs produce a lot of waste:
5 days per week X 52 weeks per year = 260 pairs of foam ear plugs tossed out every single year.

How to protect your ears while at work

The ideal method at work requires the use of custom-fit ear plugs, sometimes referred to as musicians plugs. You just have to be fitted for them by your hearing consultant, who can tailor specifically to you, your job, and your needs.
This is much better than picking up disposabless at the community store, and it’s cheaper and better on the environment in the long run, too.

Schedule an appointment today

The benefits of custom-fit ear plugs speak can be seen in many facets of life. Particularly if you undergo exposure to loud noises at work, or attend several concerts, be sure to schedule a consultation with a hearing expert today. Custom-fit ear plugs will protect your ears the best.

A Brief History of Hearing Aids

Approximately 35 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss. In perspective, very few of them are prescribed a hearing aid. They can be quite costly, but their advantages are unparalleled and well worth it. On average, a hearing aid costs about $1500. They have come a long way from the primitive ear trumpets of 200 years ago. As a result of research over the years as well as growth in technology, these devices now come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and even colors. Plus, they only weigh a few ounces, providing an unmatched versatility to the user. They used to weigh tens of pounds! With connections to Bluetooth and filtering capabilities inherent in today’s models, there has been quite an evolution in terms of these devices.

On the Ear

It wasn’t till the late 1930s that hearing aids that could be worn on the ear with relative comfort got popular. These devices were made by a Chicago electronics manufacturer, featuring a thin wire connected to an earpiece and receiver. A battery pack which attached to the user’s leg made it hard to get around easily, though. More compact models emerged during World War II for more reliable service to the user thanks to the invention of printed circuit boards.

Precursors to Hearing Aids

Ear trumpets were crafted for the very wealthy, such as the Reynolds Trumpet, personally made for Joshua Reynolds, a famous painter of his time. The ear trumpet is a horn-shaped instrument that is designed to direct sound into the inner ear. It was invented back in the 17th century, which were beneficial only to those who suffered from a partial hearing impairment. These were large, cumbersome devices that only served to amplify sound within the immediate environment. Just think of an old phonograph with the conical sphere and you’ll get a good mental picture of what these resembled. As the 18th century approached, they came even further.

How can Phones Improve Hearing?

When the 19th century came about, electrical technologies emerged spurred on by the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. This invention was a catalyst for advancement leading to electrical transmission of speech. Thomas Edison was inspired by this invention and came up with the carbon transmitter for the telephone in 1878. This was designed to boost the basics of the telephone as well as the electrical signal to improve hearing. The 17th and 18th centuries brought with them devices that offered only limited amplification qualities.

Modern Models

Behind-the-ear models, invented in 1964 by Zenith Radio, boasted digital signal-processing chips. Then along came hybrid analog-digital models and then fully digital models by 1996. By the year 2000, programmable hearing aids were on the scene that gave users increased flexibility, customization and comfort. Today, most — about 90 percent — of all hearing aids are digital in nature.

Vacuum Tubes Were Revolutionary Yet Cumbersome

Vacuum tubes, put out by Western Electric Co., came next in New York City in 1920. Manufactures built upon the technology that came from Lee De Forest’s finding of the three-component tube years earlier. They offered not only better amplification but also better frequency. However, they were huge and impractical. They got to the size of a small box eventually, but they were still quite inconvenient.
Today’s hearing aids are light years ahead in terms of size, weight, functionality and adaptability.

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Hearing Aids

Hearing aids have went through a large number of iterations in their 200-plus year history. The technology that is implemented in hearing aids has historically been developed by means of a devoted scientist who is either affected by hearing loss or has a friend or family member affected by hearing loss. As an example, Alexander Graham Bell’s mother had substantial hearing loss and his wife was deaf.

Here are 10 other little-known facts about hearing aids:

1. Hearing aids can be synced up with wireless devices through state of the art technology like Bluetooth, so users are able to enjoy direct signals from their smart phone, MP3 player, TV, and other gadgets.

2. Hearing aids are not one size fits all – in fact, they can and should be programmable. This means they have the capability to recall the most comfortable settings for the user, often readjusting in real time to the surrounding environment.

3. Digital hearing aids – a recent advancement — have drastically diminished the occurrence of pestering feedback, echoes, and background noises. These were par for the course as part of earlier technologies, and they made concentrating much harder.

4. In addition to the amplification of sound, modern hearing aids can also enhance and clarify sound.

5. When used in combination with special induction or hearing loops, hearing aid users can more clearly hear notices in public areas, meetings, airports, arenas, and other congested areas. This technology enhances sounds and minimizes all the background noise.

6. It used to be that hearing aids were only manufactured in beige and related colors to match people’s skin color, so that they were not easily recognizable. Today, users are welcoming their hearing aid technology, exhibiting a range of colors and patterns to show off their devices and stick out in a crowd.

7. Similarly, hearing aids are smaller in size than ever before. They used to be large, cumbersome gadgets that weighed several pounds and barely amplified sound. Today, they only weigh a few ounces and provide remarkably better sound quality.

8. Today, you can purchase water resistant and waterproof hearing aids to better fit in with your lifestyle. Water resistant hearing aids can tolerate low levels of humidity and moisture, while waterproof hearing aids can withstand higher levels of moisture during showering and even swimming.

9. Instead of having to frequently replace the batteries in hearing aids, many are now made with rechargeable technology to cut down on upkeep costs.

10. Hearing aids do much more than amplify sound – they can also contain special tinnitus therapy components that provide the user with relief when it comes to constant ringing in the ear.

Now that you learned some interesting facts about hearing aids and their accompanying technology, you can better understand what they have to offer the young and the old alike.

Hearing Loops: What They Are And How They Work

Hearing loop technology is now being implemented in more places than ever before. This incredible re-purposing of telephone technology has allowed people to hear better inside of public spaces. Since there is a growing community that is looking to get more adaptations in place for hearing impaired individuals, this inexpensive and easily-implemented technology is looked upon rather favorably. Since there are still so many who are unfamiliar with this tech, we will take a close look at what hearing loops are, where they are implemented, and how they work.

What Is A Hearing Loop?

The term “Hearing Loop” tends to throw many people off from discovering what this technology actually consists of. The loop refers to a cable that is run throughout a room so that it can pick up and transmits electromagnetic signals. The second part of the hearing loop is a hearing aid that is fitted with technology to pick up and translate electromagnetic signals. Together, these two parts make up the hearing loop and increase the hearing abilities of people in public spaces around the world.

Where Are They Used?

Currently, there is a push to have hearing loops implemented in just about every public building that is capable of affording them. Some lawmakers are even looking at a way to get federal funding for these hearing loops because they have shown such early success. Right now, you can mainly find hearing loops in meeting rooms, conventions centers and even in some parts of public transportation. These hearing loops allow people to hear all different manner of sounds without having to worry so much about signal interference and frequencies not working properly. Overall, there is a continuing push to see more buildings outfitted with hearing loops in the near future.

How Do They Work?

The process behind a hearing loop is not terribly difficult to understand. A hearing loop uses a microphone to pick up the sound and transform it into an electromagnetic signal. This signal travels through the cable of the hearing loop, and then transmits it into the open air in the same way that a radio works. From there, the sound needs to be picked up by a telecoil, a specific receiver that was initially used as a way to boost the transmitting power of a hand held telephone.
Most modern hearing aids have a telecoil built into them in the form of a t-switch. These can be manually turned on by the hearing device’s user. After it is activated, it can receive the signals put out by the hearing loop and translate them into sound that is able to be heard without as much background noise that ambient sound holds. This allows hearing impaired individuals to listen to speakers and clients in building settings much more effectively.

The Evolution Of Hearing Aids

Hearing aids have proven themselves to be some of the very best items ever created for hearing health. They allow people to live a life that is as close to normal as possible, and have even brought hearing to people who would not have had it otherwise. Looking forward, it appears that we are going to continue to develop new and wonderful additions to hearing aid devices as technology continues to improve. Let us take a brief look at the forms of hearing aids that we would have seen in the past, so that we can better appreciate this bright future.

Ear Trumpets

The first and most primitive type of hearing aid was the hearing trumpet. These devices were used by people for at least a thousand years prior to the invention of digital hearing aids and had a very simple premise. Essentially, the listener would put a tapered piece of metal or wood in their ear and have the larger end open to the world to gather sound. This would bring more sound waves directly into the ear where it would have a better chance of being understood. The limitations to this device made it necessary to use burgeoning technology for improvements.

Vacuum Type Hearing Aids

Vacuum tube hearing aids were an invention in the middle of the 20th century. They featured a vacuum tube that would be used in conjunction with telephone technology in order to produce sound that was amplified and much more clear than before. This used a phone transmitter and receiver to pick up sound, turn it into electrical impulses, and then make it come through to the individual in a loud and concise manner. With the magnified sound, the individual could hear many more ambient noises, and came with the bonus of being portable. It also helped to convince the public at large to use technology for medical purposes for hearing loss.

Carbon Microphone Hearing Aids

While these hearing aids predated the vacuum tube hearing aids, they were still very valuable due to their integration of novel technology in their design. The hearing aids used a carbon microphone as well as a battery and magnetic receiver. When sound hit this diaphragm, it would propel the carbon across the magnetic receiver, causing sound waves to make louder noises than what was originally put out. This allowed people to listen better than before, but came with many restrictions. First, the sound quality was extremely low because of the moving carbon pieces. It was also much too bulky to be moved around the room successfully, so the user had to remain rather immobile. Yet, it was still a better option than the ear trumpet in many respects.

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