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Updates for Aid Sound Devices

Hearing aids are medical devices that help enhance degenerative auditory deficits. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), product and technology developments contribute to constant updates for sound devices. Hearing aids are available in various designs and are often manually adjustable. See your primary physician or an auditory specialist if you suspect a hearing loss.

  1. Analog to Digital

    • Analog technology transforms audio waves into amplification signals that can be heard through hearing aid speakers, according to NIH. While analog-based hearing aids are still available, digital equipment has advanced sound device technology. Digital technology converts sound similarly to analog equipment, although it differs in one key area. Audio frequencies can be more precisely adjusted with digital aids, providing a smoother hearing experience. Digital aids are also more easily manipulated through the use of computers.

    Surgical Versions

    • Over-the-ear and canal placement devices are not the only way to wear hearing aids. According to NIH, sound devices can now be surgically implanted into the ear. Middle ear implants attach to a single canal bone. This implant physically adjusts the bone and opens the canal, reducing the need for excessive amplification. Bone-anchored hearing aids implant farther into the auditory canal, all the way to the rear. This procedure detours audio waves around the middle ear to the ear drum.

    Research Updates

    • Audio experts working to expand the technological capacities of sound devices are moving from computer-based research to animal examinations, according to NIH. As of April 2009, states the Accoustical Society of America, scientists are examining the single-direction inner ear function of the miniature fly Ormia ochracea. Because of the fly's single-directional hearing, notes NIH, studies are helping experts develop devices for humans that reduce extraneous noise. This technological update can help hearing aid users maximize single-directional hearing--such as person-to-person--without the distraction of residual noise.

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