The Facts On Digital Hearing Aids And Frequency Response
One of the reasons why people say digital hearing aids are better than analog hearing aids is that the sound quality is better. They say that digital signal processing makes the sound clearer and truer. But, is that really true?
First, let's look at how digital works, and why it is different than analog. Analog hearing aids take the sound waves and boost their volume. The sound simply goes into the microphone, the sound level is raised, and it comes out the receiver at a higher level. Digital hearing aids have a computer chip inside that takes the sound, analyzes and samples it, and then sends the new sampled sound through the receiver and into the ear.
Digital hearing aids allow you to use more options and add-on features. They are more adjustable. But, is the sound actually better?
Digital hearing aids do not work magically. They operate in much the same way as analog hearing aids. Like analog aids, they do not change or enhance the actual sound waves. It comes into your ear just as it comes into the hearing aid. However, digital hearing aids do offer some advantages to analog hearing aids due to their signal processing.
Noise reduction. With analog hearing aids, you have two options in controlling the sound. You can turn the volume up or down. If there is unwanted noise, you have to turn everything down. With programmable analog hearing aids, you can choose between different settings for different environments, but still they are quite limited.
Digital hearing aids have features that reduce noise and feedback. The computer chip inside the device can pinpoint those frequencies that are unwanted and eliminate them. This is one of the big advantages of digital over analog hearing aids.
Directional microphones. Directional microphones are not unique to digital hearing aids. Programmable analog hearing aids have them too. But, used together with digital sound processing, directional microphones can be much more effective. The DSP can be used to find certain frequency patterns and calibrate the microphones, allowing them to work more effectively.
Compression. Compression allows certain frequencies to be boosted while others are not. Again, this is not unique to digital technology, but digital sound processing allows it to work more effectively. With a computer chip, there are more channels that can be used. The channels can be set to allow or keep out certain frequencies without as much work by the audiologist.
Sound generation. Unlike analog hearing aids, digital hearing aids actually produce sound on their own. This means that sound levels can be more easily adjusted to the wearer's particular hearing loss pattern. This may produce a more accurate representation of the sounds you hear, thus giving it a clearer quality.
Ultimately, what kind of hearing aid is best for you is to be decided by you and your audiologist. Analog hearing aids are gradually being phased out, but programmable analog hearing aids offer quite a few features at a much more affordable price than digital.