Go Digital - Digital Hearing Aids That Is

With all the in-depth, technologically-thick talk about digital hearing aids, a hearing aid consumer may forget that he or she is seeking a way to hear the world better. With all the confusing terms to translate, the search for hearing aids can be akin for many to the search for a high definition television. Different technologies are batted around just as terms like ‘Plasma’ and ‘high definition’ are becoming, common, every day words. Below, we share with you how to wade through all the technical jargon, making sure that you keep your focus on what’s most important – securing hearing aids that help you listen to the world once more.

Digital hearing aids are:

• Simply a large category of hearing aids. Instead of using analog technology, which was heralded in its heyday as a large breakthrough in hearing aid capability, digital signaling is a different way for the hearing aid to capture sounds. Sounds are then translated so those who have difficulty hearing can experience what everyone else is hearing. Under the umbrella term of ‘digital’ lie many different sizes, shapes and models of hearing aids, but all rely on the same general digital technology.

• Part of the computer technology realm. Digital hearing aids in fact use computer technology in the form of a chip to turn the sounds in your world into signals which are then translated back to sounds inside your ear. It sounds complicated, but the system works remarkably well and is called digital signaling processing (DSP).

• Revered for their ability to filter background noise. If you’ve heard the saying “Seeing the forest for the tress,” you’ll understand the metaphor as it relates to hearing loss. Sometimes you want to simply hear the person who is talking right in front of you – not the entire ‘forest’ of people who surround you.

• A godsend to those who shudder from the sudden loudness of noises. Some digital hearing aids actually shut themselves off if a sound is too loud, keeping the ‘music’ of the world around you to a recognizable and reliable decibel level.

• More expensive than other types of hearing aids. Analog hearing aids, while not totally one-size-fits-all, definitely use less advanced technology than digital hearing aids. Thus, just like those televisions that work just fine but are not currently equipped for high definition purposes, they are less expensive than their higher-tech digital counterparts. Keep this in mind when you search for your hearing aids. If your budget does not permit you to purchase digital hearing aids, all is not lost. There are likely other options available to you.