It's amazing that a device as small as a hearing aid can change
a person's life as much as it does. Those of you who have had an
experience of wearing a hearing aid must have wondered how it
actually works, well they're pretty amazing things. Here we will
discuss the basic working of different types of hearing aids
that are currently available on the market.
All hearing aids have certain things in common, all hearing
aids have the same basic components without these components,
hearing aids would simply be unable to function. These
components are: a microphone that picks up sounds around you, an
electronic circuit that amplifies this sound and a receiver that
transfers amplified sound to inner ear to be heard. The circuit
works with the help of a battery, and all this equipment is
housed within a small case which can fit in a variety of
different places.
So, you see the hearing aid is simply a sound amplifier. That's
how you are able to hear many sounds that you were previously
unable to hear thanks to this advice. Hearing aids are split
into two main categories, digital and analog. Analog aids are
further divided into conventional and programmable aids.
Programmable analog aids allow you to program specific
functionality within the hearing aid to make it suitable for
different environments, these settings can be changed by using a
switch or a remote control.
Digital hearing aids work in much the same way as a
programmable analog aid. The only difference is that these
digital aids are self-adjusting. This means that the wearer
doesn't have to change the volume or any other setting manually.
Digital aids are characterized by the sampled analog signals as
only high and low impulses. These signals are then manipulated
by using techniques of digital signal processing to add extra
features to the hearing device, including noise reduction,
automatic gain control, compression and sound generation.
Digital hearing aids are much more expensive than analog because
of this extra functionality.
In addition to this classification, hearing aids are also
distinguished on the basis of their style. Four popular styles
are BTE (behind the ear), ITE (in the ear), ITC (in the canal)
and CIC (completely in the canal). Their names pretty much
explain where they all fit. Each type looks different and each
are suitable for different degrees of hearing loss.
BTE hearing aids are composed of an ear mold that fits behind
the ear, and tubing that transmits the sound to the ear. They
are easy to use, easy to clean and easy to maintain. However,
because of their size they are quite noticeable. These types of
hearing aids are especially designed for kids because they may
struggle to manage the other types of hearing aids. ITE hearing
aids completely fit inside the ear and are barely visible. They
usually come with extra functions like a telephone switch to
allow the user to easily listen to a telephone conversation. ITC
and CIC work in a similar way, but ITC aids are somewhat bigger
in size than CIC hearing aids. For more info see
http://www.firsthea ringaids. com/comparerevie ws/hearing_ aid_manufacturer s.html
on kinds of hearing.
There is another type of hearing aid that is much less well
known, this is called the bone conduction hearing aid. This is
designed for people whose eardrum or ear canal becomes so
damaged that other hearing aids are not feasible. The brain
interprets these vibrations as sound. There is an additional
component in this type of device, known as the oscillator, which
receives sound signals and produces vibration according to their
pattern. These aren't very common, they're only really used by
people that have no alternative.
No comments:
Post a Comment