House of Hearing Aids Hearing Facts

What a Racket! (Source: The League for the Hard of Hearing)

Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is one of the world's most common health problems.  It can happen to anyone at any age.  Some people are born with a hearing impairment, while others experience hearing loss as a normal part of the aging process.  A head injury, ear infection or prolonged exposure to loud noise can also cause hearing problems.

Most hearing loss is not simply like listening to sounds with the volume turned down.  Instead, you will  probably notice that there are certain ranges of sound or tones that you have difficulty hearing.  Normal speech is a combination of many different frequencies.  Your hearing loss may affect your ability to hear some frequencies better than others.  Sometimes it can seem as if people are mumbling and not speaking clearly.  So, while we may not hear that people are talking, we may not be able to understand what we hear.

Types of Hearing Aids

In-the-ear (ITE), in-the-canal (ITC), invisible-in-canal (ICC), and Completely-in-the-canal (CIC) are custom-designed to fit the wearer's ear.  Inconspicuous once in place, they fit comfortably and securely inside the ear or ear canal, in order to most closely imitate the natural hearing process.

Behind-the-ear (BTE), and Receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids fit comfortably behind-the-ear and are attached to a custom earmold.

Digital hearing aids (computerized) boast today's most advanced technology.  These aids are available in all sizes/models.  Digital provides the clearest sound possible in today's hearing instruments and will help to control some background noises.

Digital Technology Update

Digital sound processing is fast becoming standard with modern hearing aids.  The main advantage of digital hearing aids over traditional hearing aids, are they are more automatic and flexible.  For example, with most traditional hearing aids, a volume control was used to control loudness levels.  The volume of the hearing aid depended on how quickly one could adjust the volume to each listening environment.  Digital hearing aids adjust to sounds automatically by ensuring that all the soft speech sounds are to be heard and loud sounds are not over powering.  If the client prefers a Volume Control it can be added to the hearing aid. Another feature of digital hearing aids is the number of programs that are available. Multiple memories allow for even more flexibility in the hearing aids.  Programs can be set in the hearing aid for specific listening environments.  An example of this would be to have a program set for a noisy environment that will help reduce the background noise.  This allows the hearing aid to be more customized to the patient's lifestyle.  Digital hearing aid technology also means better sound quality, which will help with speech understanding.

Remember, all hearing aids provide some benefit but choosing a hearing aid that is more customized to your lifestyle is important.  Now that most hearing aids are digital, it is more important to focus on the features of the hearing aid that best match your lifestyle and budget.  The most sophisticated of digital hearing aids will be more flexible and include most of the features. These models offer a memories for different environments.  Recently, non-programmable digital hearing aids have been introduced. 

Call either the Point Pleasant office at 732-892-3882 or our Lakewood office at 732-363-5991 for a FREE EVALUATION and demonstration of this amazing break-thru in hearing aids.