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But how
Hearing Aids work? |
There
are more than 31 millions people in North America
suffering from hearing loss. This can be very
frustrating for many people to understand from
normal conversation to very little details every
day. Fortunately, hearing aids exist to allow
everyone to enjoy every single sound, amplified or
not. However, it has been proven that a small
portion of people who would need hearing aids uses
them, in fact, only 20%. The reason why there
are very few people wearing hearing aids in
proportion to what it should be is that the majority
of people think these devices are very expensive and
apparent. Things have changed, some can be
surprisingly inexpensive and unapparent at all.
There are two main reasons why people suffer from
hearing loss:
Conductive hearing loss occurs when sound
doesn't move as it should through the eardrum, ear
canal or the three bones of the inner ear. It
can be caused by earwax, a punctured eardrum, fluid
in the ear, a genetic defect or an infection.
The result is a sensation as though your ears are
plugged. Conductive hearing loss can be
treated with surgery.
Sensorineural hearing loss involves damage
to the cochlea. It's the most common type, affecting
about 90 percent of people with hearing loss.
Sensorineural hearing loss can be a byproduct of
aging, or it can occur due to infections,
genes,
head trauma, exposure to loud noises or fluid
buildup in the inner ear. This is the type of
hearing loss that a hearing aid can help.
To
understand how hearing aids work, we have to know
which part of the device has which function.
Hearing aids are composed of four basic parts:
- a microphone
- an amplifier
- a receiver
- a battery
To make
a hearing aid, an audiologist or hearing aid
dispenser will make an imprint of the patient's ear
by pouring silicon material into the ear. Once it
hardens, the silicon imprint is removed from the ear
and sent to the manufacturer to make the hearing
aid.
The imprint is used to make a silicon mold, which is
filled with acrylic and hardened in an ultraviolet
oven. This creates the shell of the hearing aid.
Holes are drilled into the hearing aid, and the
electrical components -- volume control, microphone
and speaker -- are placed inside. A group of wires
is attached to all of the different electronic parts
and the battery is installed. When the hearing aid
is finished, it is polished smooth and then analyzed
to make sure that it fits the patient's hearing
prescription.
There are four main
types of hearing aids that can be found
here
Analog hearing
aids amplify sounds -- the trouble is they amplify
all sounds equally. So while your sister is
recounting stories of her recent vacation, her voice
is being drowned out by the competing sounds of the
television, air conditioner and vacuum cleaner.
Some analog hearing aids are programmable, meaning
that they can hold separate settings for different
listening situations. You can "change the
channel" to adjust certain sounds louder or softer,
depending on your preferences and hearing loss.
But because they aren't as sensitive as digital
hearing aids, analog hearing aids are being
gradually phased out.
The vast majority
of hearing aids sold in the United States today are
digital. Although they are more expensive than
analog hearing aids, digital hearing aids provide
much clearer sound quality. Digital hearing
aids contain a computer chip, which analyzes the
sound based on the person's hearing loss and
listening situation, and then amplifies it in a way
that accommodates for the volume and pitch of
incoming sounds. It even adjusts for feedback.
Like analog hearing aids, digital aids can be
programmed for a variety of listening environments.
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