How do hearing aids work?
A hearing aid is not just a sound amplifier. It’s a highly sophisticated communication device that can empower you to live life to the very fullest!
In all hearing aids, you’ll find 5 essential components: microphones, an amplifier, a loudspeaker, a battery and a computer chip that is programmed by your audiologist to suit your individual needs and listening requirements. Although all hearing aids have a similar design, there can be significant differences in the quality of sound and speech understanding between different devices and manufacturers.
The higher the quality of the hearing aid, the more natural the listening experience will be. This is because they offer features like bandwidth, automatic volume regulation, noise management and feedback suppression.
The most advanced hearing aids also have a wide range of personalisation options and the ability to connect wirelessly to several devices, such as mobile phones, TVs etc.
You’ll find the most advanced technology in the newer hearing aid models, and these improvements do come at a cost. But you can feel assured that there are hearing aids available to suit all tastes, budgets and listening requirements. We can recommend a model based on the result of your hearing test and a conversation about your lifestyle and budget.
Here is how a hearing aid works step-by-step:
Microphones pick up sounds
The processing chip analyses sounds
Processed sounds are sent to the amplifier
Amplified sounds are sent to the loudspeaker
Sounds are transmitted by the loudspeaker into the inner ear, via tubing in an ear mould in the ear canal, or via a thin wire to a receiver in the ear
In the inner ear, the sounds are transformed into electrical impulses Impulses are picked up by the brain where they are processed
With thanks to Oticon.
