If you have just become aware that you have suffered some hearing loss or you have just become able to do something about your problem, you will want to be able to compare the various kinds of hearing aids. The National Association For The Deaf and your audiologist will be able to give you some advice, but it is always best to be able to do your own research as well.
Assuming that you are not going to consider an ear trumpet, there are three key choices: analogue, digital or hybrid hearing aids. The analogue hearing aid is the least expensive of the three and it operates by picking up the sound with a microphone and amplifying it into your ear.
Then there is the half-way house hybrid which is called the digital programmable or analogue programmable hearing aid. It is an analogue unit, but it has programmable functions. It is customizable by the use of computer software programming.
These capabilities allow you to customize the hearing aid to the conditions that you are in at any time. For instance, they can be made to be more or less responsive or to mask out specific frequencies like wind noise. They are more expensive than analogue hearing aids.
Digital hearing aids are by far the most pricey, but then the sound quality is greatly superior as well. The difference in sound quality is analogous to the difference between CD's and vinyl records. This is achieved through digital signal processing or DSP.
Digital hearing aids have different amounts of so-called channels. These channels relate to frequency bands. Not everyone loses precisely the same amount of the same frequencies, so if your digital hearing aid supports numerous channels, you can programme each channel to compensate exactly for your loss. One person may only need to regulate one or two channels, but others may have to modify several of them.
Normal 'behind the ear' (BTE) hearing ears have a microphone that tends to stress sounds from behind the wearer, but a digital unit has directional microphones so that you can switch on forward facing microphones too.
The digital hearing aids also have built in predetermined programmes for ease of use. One click and your unit is optimized for a loud location, another click and it is optimized for the cinema. This is a very handy function.
Look for a 'smart' function on your digital hearing aid. This feature remembers your most used settings so that when you replace the battery, it automatically resets itself. This is another very useful feature, given that you may have to renew the battery between one and seven times a week. Check how long the batteries are likely to last too.
Other things to look out for are capabilities to cut out ambient frequencies like wind, traffic and feedback. It is always helpful to have some intelligence at your finger tips, when you go to talk to your audiologist or when you go shopping for your new hearing aid. Learn how to compare hearing aids for yourself.
Assuming that you are not going to consider an ear trumpet, there are three key choices: analogue, digital or hybrid hearing aids. The analogue hearing aid is the least expensive of the three and it operates by picking up the sound with a microphone and amplifying it into your ear.
Then there is the half-way house hybrid which is called the digital programmable or analogue programmable hearing aid. It is an analogue unit, but it has programmable functions. It is customizable by the use of computer software programming.
These capabilities allow you to customize the hearing aid to the conditions that you are in at any time. For instance, they can be made to be more or less responsive or to mask out specific frequencies like wind noise. They are more expensive than analogue hearing aids.
Digital hearing aids are by far the most pricey, but then the sound quality is greatly superior as well. The difference in sound quality is analogous to the difference between CD's and vinyl records. This is achieved through digital signal processing or DSP.
Digital hearing aids have different amounts of so-called channels. These channels relate to frequency bands. Not everyone loses precisely the same amount of the same frequencies, so if your digital hearing aid supports numerous channels, you can programme each channel to compensate exactly for your loss. One person may only need to regulate one or two channels, but others may have to modify several of them.
Normal 'behind the ear' (BTE) hearing ears have a microphone that tends to stress sounds from behind the wearer, but a digital unit has directional microphones so that you can switch on forward facing microphones too.
The digital hearing aids also have built in predetermined programmes for ease of use. One click and your unit is optimized for a loud location, another click and it is optimized for the cinema. This is a very handy function.
Look for a 'smart' function on your digital hearing aid. This feature remembers your most used settings so that when you replace the battery, it automatically resets itself. This is another very useful feature, given that you may have to renew the battery between one and seven times a week. Check how long the batteries are likely to last too.
Other things to look out for are capabilities to cut out ambient frequencies like wind, traffic and feedback. It is always helpful to have some intelligence at your finger tips, when you go to talk to your audiologist or when you go shopping for your new hearing aid. Learn how to compare hearing aids for yourself.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with hearing aids comparisons. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Digital Hearing Aids Prices.
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