How can hearing aids help?

Hearing aids are primarily useful in improving the hearing and speech comprehension of people who have hearing loss that results from damage to the small sensory cells in the inner ear, called hair cells. This type of hearing loss is called sensorineural hearing loss. The damage can occur as a result of disease, aging, or injury from noise or certain medicines.

A hearing aid magnifies sound vibrations entering the ear. Surviving hair cells detect the larger vibrations and convert them into neural signals that are passed along to the brain. The greater the damage to a person’s hair cells, the more severe the hearing loss, and the greater the hearing aid amplification needed to make up the difference. However, there are practical limits to the amount of amplification a hearing aid can provide. In addition, if the inner ear is too damaged, even large vibrations will not be converted into neural signals. In this situation, a hearing aid would be ineffective.

Available technologies and features:

• A wide range of hearing aid powers and styles to suit all types of hearing loss and lifestyle.
• Industry leading sound processing giving best possible results for listening in challenging environments.
• Invisible custom-made hearing aids for absolute discretion.
• Rechargeable behind-the-ear and in-the-ear options.
• Wireless streaming to smartphone devices allowing for effortless streaming of phone calls, music as well as hearing aid adjustments through the hearing aid phone app.
• Tracking of physical and cognitive activities for those who wish to monitor and improve their health.
• Language translation through a user’s hearing aids and on their smartphone screen.
• Remote hearing aid programming – users can send requests to their hearing aid audiologist using their smartphone app and receive hearing aid adjustments without needing a face-to-face appointment.
• Industry leading processing of music as well as wind and machine noise reduction.
• Hearing aid technologies for tinnitus relief and single-sided hearing loss.

by Peter Athawes, Audiologist