Hearing Aids: Programmable VS Digital Hea

The two types of hearing aids are the analog or the digital type. They are designed in a manner such that they increase the loudness of the sounds reaching the ear drum enabling the hearing impaired people to understand speech better. Basically, they fill the gap created by hearing loss.

A hearing aid is made up of the following 3 main components:

• Microphone that will gather the sound waves in the air and converts them from sound energy to electrical impulses.
• An amplifier which increases the strength of the electrical signal.
• A receiver that will convert the electrical impulse back into sound energy.

The two types of hearing aid available are the analog and the digital. Both types of hearing aids look similar and come in different sizes and styles. The difference between them is in the way they process sound and the individual benefits that they offer.

Analog hearing aids use conventional electronics and amplify the continuous sound wave by simply making it larger. As these instruments cannot differentiate different sounds, they amplify all sounds equally. This results in some sounds being too loud while others may be difficult to hear. This can be corrected to a small extent by adjusting the volume of the instrument. An advanced version of these types of hearing aid is now available and is known as the Programmable analog hearing aid. These instruments are equipped with different programs that are saved in it. These programs can be switched on and off depending on the environment.

The other type of hearing aid is the Digital Hearing Aid. These instruments takes the incoming signals from the microphone, converts it into a digital format and then processes the signal using digital technology before converting it back into an analog sound than can be delivered back to the ear. Digital signal processing allows computer programs known as algorithms to be written that can be customized to each individual's hearing loss. The sophisticated versions of digital hearing aids are capable of amplifying the softest sounds of speech while at the same time subtracting out certain types of unwanted noise and avoiding distortion. Further, some varieties of digital hearing aids also provide the feature of automatic volume control.

Some of the factors to think about when selecting a digital hearing aid is:

• Number of channels or bands that it provides.
• Number of multiple memories that the instrument can support.
• The directional microphone that the instrument supports.

Expansion is another advantage offered by the digital hearing aids. Expansion is the name given to process of reducing gain for very soft inputs so that is it reduces the background noise, for example the hum of an air-conditioner. Expansion cannot be provided in analog devices, as the circuitry required is very complex.

Telecoils are special options available on some models of digital hearing aids. A telecoil helps the person using the device listen over the phone more easily. It can also be used with additional listening devices like amplified telephones or amplified television listeners.

Channels are frequency ranges in which the compressive settings can be adjusted individually. Digital hearing devices provide multiple channels that can be used as per the environment that you are in.

Now that we have discussed the advantages of the digital hearing aids, let us talk about the major disadvantage of the digital ones. As the digital hearing aids focus more on clarity than loudness, it is not suitable for people with profound hearing loss. This is because the circuitry used by digital aids do not provide as high as amplification as the analogous versions can. The other advantage that the analog types have over the digital ones is the cost factor. While the analog devices cost about $3000, the digital ones cost about $5600. The high costs of the digital instruments are attributed to the fact that manufactures have to put in a large amount of resources into research and development.

No doubt, the digital hearing aids are far better than the analog programmable hearing aids. This is certified by the fact that today over 75% of all hearing aids sold are digital. Considering all the factors while choosing a hearing aid is very important before deciding a hearing aid for you. The best hearing aid for you is one that can meet all your needs, offer a good warranty and service and lastly one that your professional doctor is experienced in fitting.