The following is a brief chronology of the major developments in hearing aid technology:
In the ear hearing aids
Miniaturisation in the electronics industry led to smaller microphones, amplifiers and loud-speakers.
Digital hearing aids
Hearing aids that are programmed from a computer and have digital signal processing (DSP) technology. DSP allows hearing aids to have many different frequency channels so they fit an individual’s hearing loss more exactly. They also deliver more comfortable sound – quiet sounds are amplified more than loud sounds. Feedback (whistling) can also be controlled.
Dual microphones
Involve 2 microphones set into the hearing aid which have a small separation between them. This means that the hearing aid is more directional and DSP can enhance speech coming from one direction against surrounding noise. So the hearing aid is better at hearing speech in noise.
Wireless Technology
The left and right hearing aids can be linked to each other and also to an additional bluetooth device (streamer). Linked hearing aids mean that they can operate much more like the normal hearing system. If one hearing aid is closer to a source of noise, it will be automatically turned down and the other hearing aid will provide clearer listening. The streamer allows other devices to link with the hearing aids eg telephones, TV and music systems. Even the smallest instruments now have wireless technology.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is available in-the-ear instruments from the ITC size upwards, although this does depend on the size of ear canal. All BTE and RIC aids can accommodate Bluetooth technology.
This enables the hearing aids to connect directly to another Bluetooth source however, for mobile phones, the type of phone is relevant. Apple developed the hearing aid Bluetooth chip to be a low current system and so it is designed to connect with Apple devices. To connect to other Android devices most manufacturers provide a small additional device.
You can call Dr Graham Day for a free hearing aid consultaion on 07957 191 896