Published in Hearing Health Magazine, winter 2011
Does anyone remember the days of "traditional hearing aids," when hearing devices were fit to simply and appropriately amplify a hearing loss? Well, those simpler times are over. The days of Bluetooth connectivity, wireless interfacing, talking hearing aids, and hi-fi invisible devices are here.
No longer are hearing professional merely experts in prescribing and fitting hearing aids and performing hearing rehabilitation. Today, they also have to feel comfortable as lifestyle consultants for the hearing impaired. our patients expect us to be able to advise them not just on appropriate amplification, but also on the coolest new technology available and how they can integrate that technology into their lives - be it cell phone, TV, or music player.
This brings us hearing aid providers to a new level of nerdiness, while also demanding an entirely new technological skill set. Plus, the hearing aids themselves must be as invisible, versatile, and maintenance-free as possible.
New technology is making hearing aids smarter. Deep canal hearing aids are a good example. DCHAs cover a wide range of hearing loss, from mild to sever, using unusually small-and often invisible-devices. Placement deep in the ear canal, in the bony portion, minimizes the occlusion effect (the blocked feeling in the ear canal); uses the natural resonance of the pinna (part of the outer ear) and ear canal to create a more natural sound; reduces feedback; and increases the ability to hear high frequencies.
Bluetooth connectivity and wireless capability lets our patients hear anything streamed from a Bluetooth device including music, radio, and podcasts. They can also listen to cell phone conversations in stereo with the target amplification of the instruments exactly matched to their audiograms. A hearing aid in the right ear can communicate with the hearing aid in the left ear to achieve better focus on speech in noise. And when it's time to schedule a visit with the hearing aid provide, a pleasant voice generated by the hearing aid can remind the patient to make an appointment.
Many hearing aids can be paired with a small handheld remote or wristwatch control This lets the patient adjust the hearing instruments' microphone strategy, speech enhancement, noise reduction, and overall volume comfortably and discreetly. The changes made with the remote can "teach" the hearing aid the patient's preferences so the hearing aid amplifies according to prior settings for certain sound environments.
No matter what your priorities are for hearing aid - technology, abundant convenience, or simply a small size - these days you can have it all. And with superior sound quality to boot.
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