How Hearing Aids Help
What Happens in Hearing Loss
The experience of hearing loss may be a disorienting one. Because hearing loss happens gradually, it is not immediately recognizable to people that they are experiencing changes in their hearing ability.
Depending on the type of hearing loss you experience, there are many ways that hearing loss may affect how you hear. Sensorineural hearing loss refers to the damage to inner ear hair cells that translate sound vibrations into neural signals that are registered in the brain as sound. Conductive hearing loss, on the other hand, relates to your outer and middle ear and interferes with your ability to pick up and amplify sound.
Because hearing loss is so diverse and subjective, there are many options for hearing aids available to address specific hearing needs. A hearing specialist evaluates your hearing and determines the best fit for you.
Basic Parts of a Hearing Aid
Hearing aids, in a way, mirror the auditory process. Think of hearing aids as tiny computers that pick up and process sound. The microphone picks up sound, which is then processed by a microchip, which uses algorithms to balance and mix sounds that have been picked up. Sounds are then heightened by an amplifier, then fed to the receiver which delivers this newly amplified sound to your ears. Hearing aids are powered by batteries – though there are rechargeable models available.
How Hearing Aids Help
Hearing aids are prescribed for people who experience hearing loss. You arrive at a specific model of hearing aid after a process of evaluation of your hearing abilities, needs, and lifestyle. Your hearing specialist will work with you to determine the best fit. There are many degrees and configurations of hearing loss, so the specific benefits of your hearing aids are determined by your specific needs.
Speech Recognition
Speech recognition is one of the most common struggles for people who experience hearing loss. Different vocal frequencies, the intrusion of background noise, discerning between similar speech sounds (the letters ‘p’ and ‘b’ or the sounds of ‘th’ and ‘s’, for example), and anticipating speech patterns are all challenges you may face with hearing loss.
Hearing aids are programmed to clarify and elucidate speech, with different settings for a variety of environments. You’ll find features such as “speech in noise” or “quiet speech” in hearing aids. Because we are constantly communicating in different noise settings, these features make you confident in any conversation.
Localization
Our sense of sound helps us to locate ourselves within our environment. We can hear trucks far away, while the doorbell is a few feet from us. With directional microphones, hearing aids help by picking up a whole array of sounds, filtering and processing them, and allowing us to identify the sounds that are important to use. This process assists hearing aid wearers in situating themselves in a range of different spaces.
Wireless connectivity
In the past decade, hearing aids have come a long way technologically speaking. Many are now able to connect wirelessly to devices such as smartphones and personal electronic devices (tablets, stereos, TV, etc.). With wireless connectivity, hearing aid wearers are able to stream conversations and media directly to their hearing aids.
Other Features
Some hearing aids are equipped with telecoils, which stream amplified sound through electromagnetic waves in venues with induction (hearing) loops. This is especially useful in busy transportation hubs or acoustically difficult spaces such as auditoriums, houses of worship, or theatres.
For people who experience tinnitus along with hearing loss, many hearing aid manufacturers offer sound therapy programs which help to alleviate the frustrating symptoms of tinnitus.
While hearing aids will not restore your hearing completely, they bring many benefits to your life. The use of hearing aids has been found to potentially reduce the risk of dementia, depression, anxiety, stress, and ensure your earning power on the job and preserve your relationships with the people you love. The best way to experience the powers of hearing aids, of course, is to give them a test drive. Contact us at a My Hearing Centers location to experience the difference with hearing aids.