One of the more common things we deal with as we age is hearing loss. Fortunately, technology has come to the rescue for many who are losing their hearing as they age.
Hearing aids have been around for many years. But they have come a long way since when they were first created. They used to be big, bulky devices. Now, many of them are tiny and hardly noticeable when you wear them.
Not only that, but the technology has improved quite a bit over the years. Hearing aids these days are much better at helping people hear sounds more clearly than they used to. They are better at filtering out background noise. And, many hearing aids now come with technology such as Bluetooth so you can link them to your cellphone or other devices.
How Do Hearing Aids Work?
But the question is, how do these things work? Whether you are a curious person wanting to know how hearing aids work, or you are a person in need of a pair, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will explain to you how hearing aids work.
The first thing you need to know about hearing aids is that it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are many different types of hearing aids. And each type of hearing aid works a little bit differently.
That said, the core of how a hearing aid works is pretty much the same no matter what type we’re talking about. So let’s start off with a basic overview of how hearing aids work in general.
There are basically 4 steps in the process which are…
- The microphone in the hearing aid receives sound
- Then the sound is converted into a digital signal by the microphone
- The amplifier then increases the strength of the digital signal
- Lastly, the speaker produces the amplified sound into the ear
Hearing aids are battery-powered electronic devices that help in improving the user’s hearing. Each hearing aid is customizable depending on the user’s loss of hearing.
Analog vs. Digital Hearing Aids
Here are the two different types of hearing aids along with a brief overview of how they function:
Analog hearing aids
These types of hearing aids can convert sounds into electrical systems and make them louder. They are pretty much basic hearing aids.
Digital hearing aids
Digital hearing aids are more sophisticated.
These devices convert sound waves into numerical codes and then amplify them. The numerical code includes various bits of information. This information includes the direction of a sound as well as its pitch or volume.
This type of hearing aids allows you to adjust the sound based on what you need to hear. They are more expensive compared to analog hearing aids.
Styles of Hearing Aids
Hearing aids also have different styles. Here’s a bit about the main styles you may come across.
Canal hearing aids
Canal hearing aids are placed inside your ear, and it has three types. The three types of canal hearing aids are:
- In-the-canal (ITC) hearing aids
- Completely-in-canal (CIC) hearing aids
- Invisible-in-canal (IIC) hearing aids
In-The-Ear (ITE) hearing aids
These types of hearing aids are placed inside your outer ear. They have a hard plastic case that is for holding the electronics.
Behind-The-Ear (BTE) hearing aids
These types of hearing aids, as you would have guessed, are placed behind your ear. It has different types which are:
- Mini BTE hearing aids
- Receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids
- Receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) hearing aids