Hearing Aid 101
Hearing Aid Styles
There are different hearing aid style options. Your audiologist will help you choose which style will best accomodate your hearing loss and lifestyle.
How Hearing Aids Work
All hearing aids are made up of a microphone(s) amplifier, speaker, and power source. Some hearing aids have additional parts, such as a telecoil.
1. Sound waves are picked up by the microphone(s) and converted into a digital signal.
2. An amplifier increases the volume of the signal. In most hearing aids the amount the volume is increased depends on the hearing loss programmed into the hearing aid and the volume of the environmental sound. Also, most hearing aids are able to determine if the sound is speech or background noise make adjustments accordingly.
3. A speaker converts the signal back to acoustic sound waves which are sent into the ear canal. From here the natural process of hearing begins.
How to Care for Hearing Aids
Hearing aids are an investments. Hearing aids are enssentially tiny computers, processing every sound in your environment instantaneously, all day every day. That's hard work. On top of working hard they exposed to the oils and sweat from your body, moisture and debris from the environment, and daily handling to put them in your ears and take them out. To ensure that they function their best and last a long time they need to be maintained, just like your car (which is also an expensive investment).