Digital hearing aids have evolved quickly in recent years to become HC Audiology’s cutting-edge devices that enable those living with hearing loss to break isolation and follow conversations even in loud environments.
Digital hearing aids prices Adelaide use advanced circuitry to convert sound waves to electrical signals, which can then be tailored specifically to an individual’s unique needs and environment.
Directional Microphones
Hearing aids with directional microphones can make understanding speech from a speaker more easily in noisy environments, by picking up and tuning out other sounds around them, thus improving listening comprehension and improving understanding.
A microphone’s ability to direct sound energy towards a specific direction is known as its directional pattern or polar response, and this characteristic is determined by the shape and placement of its microphone element relative to sound sources. Sensitivity increases when facing forward; as its angle from sound sources changes, its sensitivity decreases steadily.
One method for achieving directional microphone performance is combining two non-directional microphones in hearing aid circuitry to achieve similar directional results as a single cartridge directional microphone, with multiple possible directivities (see Figure 1 below).
Some hearing aid manufacturers provide hearing aids with the option to switch manually between directional mode and omnidirectional mode; other models allow automatic switching between these modes. Both options offer their own distinct advantages; some users may prefer manual control of directional settings to adapt for differing environments.
Use of directional microphones may reduce hearing in quiet environments due to increasing microphone internal noise levels; at lower frequencies this increase becomes especially pronounced.
Noise Reduction
Digital noise reduction is one of the key components of hearing aid technology that helps those with hearing loss break isolation and follow conversations at work, school, restaurants or any social setting. Digital noise reduction works by using a microphone to detect sounds before using a computer chip to reduce ambient sound levels and amplifying only those sounds directly in front of you. This can significantly decrease background noise levels so that when your friend tells a joke at dinner, they won’t be drowned out by silverware clanks or voices from tables behind you.
Digital hearing aids prices Adelaide also uses digital circuitry to recognise speech from their surroundings and reduce ambient noise if detected in speech signals. This feature is essential since most steady state noise has an unvarying pitch, tone, or volume while speech contains numerous variations of intensity and pitch.
Feedback Suppression
Feedback, in the form of an irritating squeal or whistling sound, is one of the more unpleasant side effects associated with hearing aid use. It reduces gain (amplification), causes discomfort to both wearer and those around them and must therefore be properly managed or it will lead to reduced gain (amplification) available and even cause loss of signal altogether. For this reason, many modern hearing aids come equipped with feedback management systems in order to prevent and mitigate instances of feedback.
Adaptive feedback cancellation algorithms use estimated transmission paths between loudspeaker and microphone(s) to devise an electronic feedback path which neutralises tonal feedback signals and suppresses them.
To implement feedback suppression, narrow notch filters that reduce gain in a narrow band at the frequency of feedback are typically employed; however, their performance can be compromised by changes to the acoustic environment and can result in intermittent failure of feedback suppression.
Digital feedback suppression employs an advanced signal processing technique that removes squeal without altering input signals, making it possible to increase overall gain. An algorithm analyses audio input and, when feedback occurs, places ultra-precise, 1/80 octave filters at its source that filter offending frequencies while maintaining their surrounding frequency spectrum.
This method makes digital hearing aids prices Adelaide more stable while offering an increased overall gain that goes beyond what can be accomplished through conventional gain limiting methods, such as gain limiting. When feedback suppression was activated on an ITE hearing aid pair, users were able to increase the gain up to 12dB beyond what would have been achievable with just feedback suppression turned on and without feedback suppression enabled.
Customisation
Many premium digital hearing aids feature speech enhancement technology that can pinpoint and amplify specific frequencies such as voices in noisy environments. This enables users to better focus on hearing what they need to, making conversations easier without becoming lost among background noise.
Partnered with an audiologist, advanced hearing aid technology can be optimally optimised to help users hear at its best. Audiologists are adept at fine-tuning pre-set programs of devices to match individual users’ lifestyles; an audiologist may, for example, customise one program so your microphone focuses on voices in your neighbourhood, while another increases pitch volume at farmers markets or reduces wind blowback when spending time outdoors – this level of customisation only possible via digital hearing aids prices Adelaide that convert soundwaves to digital code before amplifying them amplifying them amplifying them amplifying them before amplifying them further amplifying them further amplified sound waves amplified through digital aids that convert soundwaves into digital code before amplifying them further amplified back out again.