How Do Hearing Aids Work

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How Do Hearing Aids Work?
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• When looking for hearing aids, youll first want
  to know the answer to one simple question how
  do hearing aids work? Understanding the
  function of any product you buy is essential to
  getting the best quality for your moneyfinding
  the best hearing aids relies on that same
  principle. There are many different types of
  hearing aids out there, but the basic
  functionality remains the same across the boards,
  with minor tweaks here and there for form,
  aesthetics and precision.
• In order to help you choose the best hearing aids
  that will increase your quality of life by
  boosting the sounds you hear, it's important that
  you understand how they work.

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How Do Hearing Aids WorkChoosing the Right Types
of Hearing Aids

• There are four main components of all hearing
  aids on currently available on the market. They
  are
• A microphone which picks up the sounds from your
  environment and then converts them into
  electrical impulses. These electrical
  impulsesor signalsare then sent to the
  amplifier.
• The amplifier boosts the volume of these
  electrical signals, making them easier to hear.
  The amplified signals are then sent to the
  receiver and speaker.
• The receiver or speaker inside of hearing aids
  converts the amplified electrical signals back
  into sounds and then sends them directly to the
  ear where the natural hearing process takes over
  and the brain receives the impulses.
• To keep this process working, a battery is needed
  inside of the hearing aids.

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How do Hearing Aids WorkThe Microphone

• Sounds waves are actually vibrations of energy
  which are floating around in the air. Just as
  the waves you make in a pool diminish in power
  the further away they get from the source, the
  further away from the source (e.g. a mouth, a
  radio, a television) sound waves get, the weaker
  they get. In order to make these vibrations
  louder again, a microphone must pick them up and
  convert them from the sound waves into electrical
  impulses or signals. In the best hearing aids,
  the microphone is ultra-tiny and close to the ear
  to pick up the sound vibrations in the
  environment exactly how your ear does.

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How do Hearing Aids WorkElectronic Amplifier

• Since the purpose of hearing aids is the
  amplification of sound, there must be an
  amplification device inside the unit. Amplifiers
  don't actually turn up the sound per se, what
  they do is increase the strength of the
  electrical signal. The key here is boosting the
  strength enough so that it will eventually become
  more audible when it is turned back into sound,
  but not so much that distortion occurs. If the
  signal is boosted too much, the distortion will
  produce sounds that are unrecognisable to our
  ears when compared to the source. The best
  hearing aids have small amplifiers that don't
  require too much power.

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How do Hearing Aids WorkThe Receiver/Speaker

• No, these aren't two different partsthe receiver
  is the industry term for a speaker. The function
  of the speaker is simple, but crucial convert
  the strengthened electrical signal back into
  sound. It must do this without distorting the
  sound or weakening the strength of the signal,
  otherwise all of the work done by the hearing aid
  thus far will be lost. While battery drain isn't
  really an issue with most receivers, you will
  want to make sure you only buy hearing aids that
  have speakers which rest very close to or inside
  your ear.

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How do Hearing Aids WorkThe Power Supply

• The most important part of the hearing aid is the
  battery because without it, nothing would work.
  Batteries are the preferred source of power for
  hearing aids because they are inexpensive and can
  be changed or recharged fairly easily. The best
  hearing aids will have batteries that hold at
  least one week of continuous use charge, meaning
  the sounds won't go out unless you really neglect
  the batteries. One of the most critical things
  to look for in a good battery is the constant
  delivery of a consistent voltage, from full
  charge to no chargeyou don't want spikes and
  dips in your energy source.

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Other ConsiderationsDigital versus Analogue

• While the time has really passed for analogue
  hearing aids, you should still understand the
  major problem with them they amplify every sound
  in the environment equally. That means you hear
  the planes above, the din from the cars whizzing
  by, the sucking of the vacuum cleaner and the
  incessant barking of the neighbour's dog all at
  the same volume you hear your grandchildren
  trying to tell you something.
• You will be hard pressed to still find and
  purchase programmable analogue hearing aids which
  will allow you to change channels to adjust for
  different situations as per pre-programmed
  settings. Of course, the much simpler solution
  is to buy modern digital hearing aids which
  provide a much clearer and effective sound
  quality. The digital part of these hearing aids
  simply means that there is a computer chip inside
  which performs instant automatic analysis on both
  your level of hearing loss and the sounds coming
  in from the outside environment. They can then
  alter the sound in interesting and innovative
  ways to clear up the signal and reduce noise,
  before putting the sound back in your ears.

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Contact Us

• Perth Hearing Clinic, WA
• Email Perth_at_valuehearing.com.au
• Address Suite 7, 16 Kearns Crescent
• Ardross , WA , 6153
• Call 1800 157 429, [phone]
• Website http//www.valuehearing.com.au