Inner Workings of a Hearing Device

Understanding Hearing Loss: Causes and Prevention

People have attempted to treat hearing loss with various devices since the 19th century. It has taken 200 years of advancements in modern technology to develop the tiny devices that are now commonly known as hearing aids.

Although the current market has various types of devices available to rectify hearing loss, each of them have four components in common: the receiver, the microphone, the amplifier, and the battery. These elements work in collaboration to receive sound signals and increase the volume to the desired level within a matter of seconds.

The way in which a hearing aid works is simple yet effective. Firstly, the microphone catches sound signals in the environment and changes them into electrical signals. After this the amplifier receives these electrical impulses from the microphone and raises the volume, which is transmitted back to the ears by the receiver that converts the signals into legible sound. In order for all three of the above components to function properly, a battery is required.

Analog and digital hearing aids are the two categories of hearing aids that are available in the market today. Analog hearing aids utilize the four basic components listed above whereas digital hearing devices use a fifth component which is the microchip.

Digital hearing aids contain a miniscule microchip that is used to personalize the interpretation of sound according to the specified needs of each individual user. Basically, the microchip turns the hearing aid into a tiny computer that can be programmed to figure out how much each sound needs to be modified in a matter of a mere nanosecond.

Several pre-set options exist to help the user adapt to various listening environments and successfully distinguish speech from other background noise. Modern users prefer digital hearing aids due to this special personalized feature which enables the user to enjoy a more accurate sound quality.