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While more than 30 million Americans live with hearing loss, only a small fraction of the population decides to actively treat the condition with hearing aids. It can be an overwhelming decision to make, particularly if you are unfamiliar with hearing aids and how they can help. But, treating hearing loss with hearing aids doesn’t have to remain a mystery.
What is a hearing aid?
A hearing aid consists of three essential parts: the microphone, amplifier and speaker (also called a receiver). Today’s hearing aids all contain an additional and powerful component: a computer in the form of a processing chip. The goal of a hearing aid is to enhance the listening experience of the person wearing it, who typically finds hearing challenging due to hearing loss.
A brief history of hearing aids
The earliest hearing devices appeared in the 17th century. Known as ear trumpets, these were static tools that helped sound reach people’s ears. Of course, this was well before artificial amplification was invented and these devices were decidedly not portable. The first electronic hearing aid entered the record at the end of the 19th century. Again, these were cumbersome machines and not particularly effective.
The closest ancestor to today’s hearing aids evolved in the post-war period of the 1950s, as radio improvements rapidly advanced technology that would make hearing aids both more effective and mobile. The first digital hearing aids, with the help of computer technology, launched in 1996. Since then, there have been massive leaps forward in the ways that hearing aids can improve listening experiences for people with hearing loss.
How do hearing aids treat hearing loss?
Hearing loss comes in a variety of forms. The most common is sensorineural hearing loss (damage to the inner ear or nerve) caused by either the natural aging process or due to prolonged exposure to excessive noise.
In most cases, the sensitive inner ear cells — called stereocilia — have become damaged or lost. These cells are non-regenerative, which means that they do not repair themselves or regrow. They are supremely important to the hearing process because their job is to receive noise from the outside world and transmute it into sound information in the form of electrical signals. These signals are then sent to the brain where they take on meaning, like language and music.
When we lose access to these cells, our hearing suffers. We are able to hear less of the world around us because our brains receive less information to process.
Advancements in hearing aids
We mentioned enormous advancements in hearing aids technology that have come about since the computer boom of the 1990s. Here are a few reasons why hearing aids are smarter, sleeker and more powerful than ever before.
Digital Sound
Nearly all hearing aids on the market today amplify digital sound. Before, analog sound technology in hearing aids meant that all noise picked up by your hearing aid’s microphone was amplified and sent to your ear. With digital sound, that sound information is first filtered through a processor so that the program can refine the sound that it chooses to amplify. This significantly reduces noises that used to be a major annoyance of hearing aid wearers, like persistent, everyday background noise.
Bluetooth
Because of bluetooth technology, found in many hearing aids, you can link your hearing aids straight to your smartphone or tablet. Stream films, television shows, music or phone calls directly into your ears. You turn your hearing aids into very useful headphones — ones that are programmed to your specific pattern of hearing loss.
Apps
Many hearing aid manufacturers also provide a smartphone app so that you can control the settings of your hearing aids via the touch of a button. This also addresses concerns of yesteryear’s hearing aids wearers, in that dexterity is no longer much of an issue. Some apps even help you monitor your usage and success rate, providing useful data to you and your audiologist as you refine your hearing aid experience along the way.
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Coming soon to hearing aids near you, the next great leap of advancement will be the inclusion of AI in your hearing aids. This technology will help your hearing aids ‘decide’ which sounds you want to hear and filter out what you don’t.
Types of hearing aids
There are two overall types of hearing aids: In-the-ear and Behind-the-ear. There are certainly pros and cons to both, though you will find from consulting with your audiologist that your type of hearing loss and your unique lifestyle will help point you in the right direction.
In-the-ear hearing aids tend to be smaller and more discreet. In fact, some are nearly invisible! But the drawback is that they can be difficult to manage for people with dexterity issues and they are less powerful and so more suited to milder cases of hearing loss.
Behind-the-ear hearing aids are technically larger than In-the-ear models, but they can still be very subtle. They can treat more severe types of hearing loss and are less prone to mechanical issues like moisture exposure.
How to choose the right hearing aids for you
Step one in successful hearing loss treatment is to meet with our highly trained and knowledgeable team. While this will be the first and only time you find yourself shopping for your first hearing aids, we help people find the right hearing aids every day. We are familiar with the entire market and we’ve encountered most of the questions you’ll find yourself wondering about. Not only that, but we’re happy to answer them!