Hearing Aids

Your Hearing Aid Options

There are many hearing aid manufacturers in the world. We have the ability to work with most all of them. Over the years we have learned which companies consistently produce high quality instruments and have great customer service.

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Hearing Aid Styles

There are many styles of hearing aids. The degree of the hearing loss, power and options requirements, manual dexterity abilities, cost, and cosmetic concerns are some of the factors that will determine the style the patient will use. The most common styles are listed below.

There are many hearing aid manufacturers in the world. We have the ability to work with most all of them. Over the years we have learned which companies consistently produce high quality instruments and have great customer service.

BTE

Behind-the-Ear

Open Fit BTE

Open Fit Behind-the-Ear

CIC

Completely-in-the-Canal

ITE

In-The-Canal

ITC

In-The-Canal

Digital Hearing Aid Features

Sound received by a 100% digital hearing aid is converted to binary code to be digitally processed. Once digitized, the sound spectrum heard by humans (250 Hz – 8000 Hz) is separated into individual channels. These channels are segments of sound that can be individually controlled to match the hearing loss and hearing needs of the user. Generally speaking, the more channels, the more precisely the sound can be controlled. The channels are also grouped into bands. A band controls a group of channels such as the low tones, middle tones, or high tones. How the channels and bands process the sound is controlled by professionally fitting the aid. What a digital aid does with the sound once it has been converted to binary code is called Digital Signal Processing (DSP). In addition to volume, the programmer can control the compression, expansion, direction, and noise reduction of each band. Digital hearing aids are very sophisticated and fitting the aid properly will depend greatly on how well the professional understands the auditory system. Education and training is important when fitting a hearing aid and critical when fitting digital aids.

Multiple programs allow the hearing aid to react to sound differently to accommodate different listening environments. Because no single type of signal processing is ideal for every listening situation, multiple programs are like having several hearing aids in one. Examples of different listening environments which require different programs are; a noisy restaurant, a church service, watching TV at home or a club meeting. The programs are changed by the user with either a switch on the aid or a remote control. With this feature the user gains control of how the aid is handling sounds which can be a more powerful tool than a volume control alone.

This is one of the great advantages of digital hearing aids. The temporal patterns of sounds are analyzed by the computer chip in the aid. If the sound is a constant steady-state sound, the aid recognizes this and suppresses the noise. It is important to remember that the aid will not eliminate the noise. That would not be realistic. It does, however, allow the user to concentrate on a conversation with greater ease. Independent research studies have clinically proven that a person using a hearing aid with noise reduction can discriminate speech more accurately than using a hearing aid without noise reduction in the presence of noise.

This is another feature to reduce background noise. This works by having 2 microphones on the hearing aid; one directed behind the user and one facing forward. When the system is activated, any sounds directly behind and to the sides of the user are suppressed and the sounds coming towards the face of the user are amplified normally. This gives the user the control of what gets amplified by facing the source. Dual microphone systems are not available in the completely in the canal (CIC) style of hearing aid due to lack of room on the small faceplate. Digital aids with both dual microphones and noise reduction offer the most sophisticated features today to handle the problem of background noise.

These levels of digital technologies are currently available to help with hearing loss: We provide 3 levels of hearing aids for our patients and further discussion about what is best for you can be addressed during a consultation appointment.

In general, hearing aids are available for mild to profound hearing losses and are controlled by a sophisticated computer memory chip and a digital amplifier. Hearing aids incorporate many special features including directional microphones, multiple memories, and compatibility with telephones. They are especially well suited for patients with a reduced tolerance for background noise. They are available with or without a manual volume controls for those patients who do not want to adjust their aid throughout the day. Hearing aids use multiple channel processing to help patients hear across the widest range of listening environments with a minimum amount of user adjustment. All levels of hearing aids are now available to be used with remote controls or Bluetooth® capability.

*IMPORTANT*
More advanced and higher priced hearing aids do not always provide better results. Individual results will depend on the cause, type, severity, and the duration of the hearing loss. All patients who are considering hearing aids must have realistic expectations and a positive attitude to be successful. Even the most advanced hearing aids do not restore normal hearing nor do they eliminate background noise.

North Coast Audiology is many things to many people but at its core it reaches out to the community. We believe that our work is an integral part of a viable Humboldt County. We believe strongly in the 70 year history of Audiology, and that the field as a whole must be protected and refined by serious students and careful practitioners. What this all means for you is an Audiology practice that was started over 40 years ago on the principles of service continues towards that goal today.

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