Digital hearing aids first landed on the market in the late 1980’s with only two manufacturers producing them. Today, however, there are more than twenty. It was the advent of DSP, or Digital Signal Processors, that changed everything. Analog hearing aids work well for many patients with hearing loss and some patients prefer them here in Sun City. Sun City digital hearing aids, however, take it a step further. They take the analog sound waves and convert them for further processing. It’s DSP that allows companies to create hearing aids with the enhanced processing and features found in hearing instruments today.
So, what are some of the advantageous features of digital hearing aids? One feature that is preferred by most hearing aid wearers is Digital Noise Reduction (DNR). DNR systems analyze the sound signal to see if it contains any unwanted noise. If it does detect some noise, it reduces it. By eliminating annoying background noise, this feature enormously increases listening comfort for the hearing aid wearer. Amplified transient noises can be an uncomfortable aspect of wearing hearing aids.
For listening comfort, as with DNR, digital models also have what’s called Impulse Noise Reduction (INR). Here, INR suppresses unexpected loud and disruptive sounds such as jangling keys, clinking silverware, keyboard striking, and rattling dishes. These bothersome sounds are smoothed out so as not to be annoying or startling.
Digital hearing instruments also have frequency ranges known as channels. The more channels available, the greater the flexibility for programming to a client’s individual needs. For example, if a patient has a sensitivity to high-pitched sounds, that channel can be adjusted for hearing comfort without affecting the hearing of other sounds.
Digital hearing aids can be found in Sun City at several of the leading makers of hearing aids. To learn more about digital hearing aids, call Metro Hearing at (602) 975-4400 today.