How to Solve Microphone Amplified Hearing Problems

Most of us have experienced the awful screeching sound made by some amplified microphones. The first response is to step back; however, the issue normally has to do with the microphone and not the user. Some people with hearing aids experience feedback from amplified microphones and from their own hearing aid microphone. This microphone distortion makes hearing through the hearing aid almost impossible. Solving hearing problems related to microphone amplification response isn’t as hard as you may think.

Things You'll Need

• Microphone
• Speaker/amplifier
• Hearing aid

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Instructions

External/Portable Microphones

• 1

  Move the microphone farther away from you, or move farther away from the microphone. A microphone is simply a pathway for sound waves to reach some type of amplifier. This is done through vibration. The diaphragm of a microphone vibrates sound through to a speaker. Certain microphones will pick up amplified vibrations coming off of you or other structures located too close to the microphone. This causes reverberation, echoing, microphone feedback and problems hearing the amplified signal.

• 2

  Turn the microphone down, speak softer or turn the input down. Microphones will reach an overload level when they can no longer tolerate the volume level of the input signal. This overload causes microphone distortion.

• 3

  Use a better quality microphone. Microphones, like any technology, come with specifications and different levels of performance capabilities. Microphones can have a large or small diaphragm; this affects how much reverberation the microphone picks up, how powerful the range of the microphone is and how well people will hear when the microphone is used. Large diaphragm microphones are better for outdoor events and large areas. Small diaphragm microphones are better for indoor purposes and small areas.

Hearing Aid Microphones

• 4

  Turn your hearing aid down as low as it can go as long as you can still hear. With a hearing aid the microphone is in or close to your ear, then certain signals vibrate back out of your ear and are picked up again by the microphone, causing acoustical feedback or echoing.

• 5

  Have another audiometric hearing test done and your hearing aid re-programmed. If you’re turning your hearing aid up more and getting microphone feedback or the amplification sounds distorted, it could be that your hearing has changed.

• 6

  Take your hearing aid in for service. Your hearing health care providers office can provide in-office service and cleaning of your hearing aids. Hearing aid microphones trap moisture, earwax and debris, causing poor sound quality and distortion.

• 7

  Check if your hearing aid is loose. Hearing aids that don’t fit your ear canal properly leak amplification back into the microphone, causing loud squealing feedback. If your hearing aid is doing this, it‘s almost impossible to hear anything with it. New ear molds for behind-the-ear hearing aids are needed every three years to maintain proper fit; ear buds on open-fit hearing aids should be changed every three to four weeks. In-the-ear hearing aids should be replaced every five to seven years.

• 8

  Try a new style of hearing aid. Certain types of hearing aids offer greater distance between the microphone and receiver unit, reducing acoustical feedback. Behind-the-ear, receiver-in-the-canal and implantable hearing aids will all have better microphone performance and cause you less amplified microphone hearing problems.