1-888 857-3742
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1-888 857-3742 |
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DIGITAL HEARING AIDS THEY ARE NOT ALL THE SAME
To my knowledge all hearing aid dispensers use digital hearing aids, frankly that is not new. Having said that, remember technology changes fast and you want to make sure you are not buying older generation digital hearing aids. Each generation of product gets better; most of the research is done in handling noise in crowds and the speed in which the hearing aid processes this information. No question the newer digital aids are much better than the first ones that came out. It is hard for the consumer to be able to tell the difference because the shape of the hearing aid does not tell you what is inside. There are some key areas you can watch for. 1- Directional microphones are a must!!! To understand speech in noise your hearing must be able focused on the speech in front of you while softening the noisy background sounds. This is accomplished by directional microphones. It is, in my mind, a mandatory feature. NOT ALL HEARING AIDS HAVE DIRECTIONALLITY. 2- Are they automatic? Automatic hearing aids actually listen to the sounds you listen to and change how they work based on the environmental sounds you are in. You do not have to do anything, no volume to adjust, no buttons to push. The hearing aid does all the work. 3- Do they have multiple memory settings? The way we hear in noise is different than the way we hear in quiet and the way we hear music is different than understanding speech in noise. Without multiple memories your hearing aid will not be able to handle all areas of hearing effectively. To help you hear in a wide variety of situations the hearing aid must adjust to the sounds you are listening to. 4- How many bands or channels does it have? A channel or band is like an equalizer on a stereo. An equalizer with four sliders is not as flexible sound wise, as one with 10 sliders. It is with these bands / channels that dictate how much flexibility and how much fine tuning an aid can be adjusted, so as to get closer the user’s listening preferences. Good products will have 12 to 20 bands or channels. 5- Wind noise block and echo block. The best products have technology that masks wind noise. As well in a room that has a lot of echo, it will help reduce the bounce so only the source of the sound comes through. These breakthroughs are only available in the latest technology. New innovations are coming out all the time; your hearing aid specialist is trained to keep up with these changes. Truly hearing aids of the day are far better than those of yesterday but remember a hearing aid does not fix one’s hearing it simply takes what’s left and gives it a boost. The biggest factor we deal with is far too many people leave it too long before they seek help. You do not do yourself any favors by doing this; life is not fun when you do not hear well, not for you or your family and friends.
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