Hearing aids are fitted to people who posses an aidable hearing loss. An aidable hearing loss is a hearing loss that can be overcome when the sufferer is using a properly fitted hearing aid, enabling him or her to hear at a level that was much better than before.
What are the parameters of a successful hearing aid fit and how can that be best achieved? In summary, the best way to achieve a successful hearing aid fitting for the user is Choice, Expertise, Patience and Validation.
Choice: A hearing professional must be able to find the correct device across of range of brands and models to fit an individual with the most suitable device possible. This means that there should be a variety of brands and model types for a hearing professional to select from.
The Listening Lab carries devices from Sivantos Signia (previously known as Siemens Hearing), Resound and Bellman & Symfon.
Expertise: A hearing professional requires audiological knowledge, processes, a wealth of fitting experience as well as an innate empathy to others to be able to produce the best hearing aid usage experience for the user.
The Listening Lab’s hearing professionals are qualified, experienced veterans of the hearing industry who are continuously trained in the latest developments of hearing device technology.
Patience: The most qualified hearing professional will not be able to determine a positive hearing aid fitting for a user if he has no patience. Likewise for the user, it takes a period of time before the user is used to the louder, fuller and brighter sounds that a properly fitted hearing aid can bring to the a hearing impaired person. The brain that is deprived of normal volumes for a long time will take sometime to adjust to sounds and voices amplified by a hearing aid.
Verification: Hearing Aid users often gauge their satisfaction with their hearing devices by whether they are coping better when listening to others. While this is the end outcome that we want as hearing professionals, it isn’t always the best method for determining whether your hearing aid is helping you as much as it can. Afterall, every ear is different and the same hearing aid set in the same way for two different people will not impact these people in the same way.
The Listening Lab employes Real Ear Measurement (REM) for verification, a procedure by which the hearing aid’s performance is measured inside the ear of the user, to determine if the sounds the user is receiving from the hearing aid is what was set by the hearing professional. This procedure involves specialised equipment and expertise which the Listening Lab is in possession of.
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Components of a Hearing Aid
Such a hearing aid comprises of essentially four main components: (i) A microphone to pick up surrounding sounds, (ii) a microchip which process instructions from your hearing professional to deliver specific sounds and volumes to match your hearing levels, (iii) an amplifier to increase the volume of the “picked up” sounds and lastly (iv) a speaker (or “receiver”) to broadcast the sound into your ear canal.
What does such a device do? It helps people who cannot hear well with their own levels of hearing (sufferers of hearing loss), to hear better and more clearly as the hearing aid increases the volume of sound reaching the user’s ears, helping him/her hear when he/she could not do so without a hearing aid.
Advanced, digital hearing aids of today
The main difference in today’s modern hearing devices compared with devices of yesteryear is the sophistication of the microcomputers which control the hearing aid and allow it to function with instant precision to deliver both audibility and hearing comfort.
What do these microcomputers do?
Find out more about what today’s 21st century, modern and advanced hearing devices can do for you. The Listening Lab provides a no-obligations, totally free demonstration of these hearing aids for you. Contact a hearing professional from The Listening Lab today.
]]>What are the different types of hearing aids? You will often see acronyms like BTE, RIC, CIC when you are looking at types and hearing aids prices. What does this mean to you and me?
These acronyms refer to the body-style of the hearing aid. By body-style, we mean the size and housing of the hearing aid. The general rule to understand is larger the housing of the hearing device, the more amplification (volume) it will provide. So smaller hearing aids are generally suitable for mild to borderline severe hearing losses while larger hearing aids are more suited to moderate to profound hearing losses.
There are other advantages and disadvantages of having hearing aids in different body styles other than for powerful amplification. So let us explain the details here:
Behind-The-Ear (BTE) Hearing Aids
A BTE hearing aid is what people commonly identify as the “beige banana” that is worn behind the ear. It is the most popular style of hearing aid in the world with these advantages:
Receiver-In-The-Canal (RIC) Hearing Aids
Sometimes called the RIE (Receiver-In-the-Ear), the RITE (Receiver-In-The-Ear), the RIC device is a variant of the BTE hearing aid with a few key performance upgrades.
In-The-Ear (ITE) Hearing Aids
ITE hearing aids are the largest of the custom made hearing devices. Their larger size provides more amplification to the user and is also easier to handle for users with dexterity issues.
In-The-Canal (ITC) Hearing Aids
ITC hearing aids are a good compromise between features and size. Their small profile makes it very attractive for users who wish for an unnoticeable hearing aid.
Completely-In-the-Canal (CIC) Hearing Aids
CIC hearing aids are one of the most popular hearing deivces because:
Invisible-In-Canal (IIC) or deep fit CIC Hearing Aids
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