Digital Hearing Aids: Are They Worth It?

The computer industry has taken over the world. It is difficult to pick up a newspaper or magazine without seeing some mention of the internet, cyberspace or some other terminology associated with the rapid expansion of computers into our daily lives. It seems computer technology keeps getting faster, more sophisticated, smaller and less expensive.

Most hearing aids fit today are actually small computers with information storage chips that are capable of making very rapid adjustments to incoming sound. Digital hearing aids have been available for several years, but from the consumer’s standpoint, two important things have happened in the last year or so. First, the cost of digital hearing aids has come down by about thirty to forty percent in the last two years. We now feel that they are a good value and we feel comfortable recommending them. Second, the circuits have gotten smaller. The advanced digital circuitry helps us control feedback (that annoying whistling), so we can use the smaller size hearing aids for people that previously would have needed a larger style hearing aid.

So what are the advantages of digital hearing aids over the conventional type instruments that have been around for years? First, Compression There are two general types of hearing aid circuits, Linear and Compression. Linear simply means that the aid applies the same amount of amplification to all sounds. The power of the circuit is chosen to make the loudness of normal conversational speech loud enough for the wearer. These circuits may apply a greater boost to a specific pitch range (most people need more boost for the higher pitch sounds), but they make no accommodation for the loudness of sounds. Almost any hearing aid wearer will tell you, “I wouldn’t need hearing aids if people talked loudly.” They are right, they don’t need a boost when things are loud; they only need a boost for things that are soft. The problem with linear circuits is that in order to hears soft things, loud things are too loud. This results in frequent fiddling of the volume control.

Compression hearing aids take soft sounds and make them louder, but they take loud sounds and make them softer. They basically “COMPRESS” the entire range of loudness in a smaller package that is loud enough to be usable, and soft enough to be tolerable. The benefit of digital circuitry is that it is often difficult to predict in advance how much compression an individual will need. With programmable (see below) digital circuitry, we can experiment until we get it just right.

Second, Programmability. This refers to our ability to change the way the hearing aid sounds simply by communicating (through a wire from our desk top computer) with the computer chip inside the hearing aid. This not only allows us to fine tune the instruments to give you the best possible sound when you first get them, but it allows us to change the sound of your instruments if there is a change in your hearing. If you need more power as your hearing decreases with age, we can adjust the hearing aids accordingly. Of course, there are limits to this if the hearing loss changes dramatically.

Third, Dynamic Noise Reduction (DNR). This feature actually samples the sound around you, and based on timing, determines whether a sound is probably speech, or probably noise. If it determines that the sound is probably noise, it reduces the boost for that sound. The circuit makes this determination based on the duration of the ambient sound. Speech, on average, changes four times per second. Most background noise (like road noise, air conditioners, etc.) is relatively unchanging. If the DNR circuit determines that a sound has not changed over a fraction of a second, it reduces the loudness of that sound.

Fourth, Directional Speech Detector (DSD). You already know that when you are in a conversation in a noisy setting, you are likely to get closer to, and look directly at the speaker. Knowing this, the DSD circuit assumes that in a noisy setting you will likely be directly facing the speaker of interest. To help you with speech understanding in these situations, the DSD automatically reduces the loudness of the noise off to the side and behind you. When the room quiets down, those sounds are again amplified. This technology has been proven to improve speech understanding in background noise situations.

As mentioned above, Feedback Control is another important feature. Feedback is a common complaint of hearing aid users. There are some causes that are easily remedied such as wax in the ear canal, but some require changes to the hearing aid itself. After a few years of hearing aid use, two things are likely to happen: 1) Your desire for amplification will increase. Maybe because you hearing decreases a little, but often people find that they like a bit more power after they get used to the instruments. 2) Your ear will change shape as you age, the hearing aid will not change shape. The end result is that the aid won’t fit your ear as well as it did when you first got it. The combination of increased power and looser fit increases the likelihood of feedback. The digital circuitry allows us to make circuit changes within the hearing aid to specifically eliminate the source of the feedback.

Finally, because of our high success rate (resulting in a return rate five times lower than the national average), we have negotiated a service package with the manufacturer that is unmatched in the region. The Complete Care Package is included in the purchase of all private pay premium digital hearing aids. Please see the details of the Complete Care Package.

These are truly remarkable instruments. We encourage anyone who has been less than satisfied with the benefits of their hearing aids to consider a trial with this advanced technology.