Is a hearing aid right for you? well in this video i'm talking about the top 10
features of today's best hearing aids
hi i'm dr derek audiologist audio engineer and musician with profithearing.com bringing you
the best insight in today's latest hearing aids headphones and audio technology to improve your
life if you have concerns about your hearing always consult with your local physician or
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today i'm talking about the top 10 features of today's best hearing aids
when someone says hearing aids what do you think of?
a big bulky piece of plastic behind your ear that doesn't stop whistling
well maybe that's something you had seen with your parents or grandparents
but today hearing aids are high-tech miniaturized computers that transform the lives of people who wear them
today's hearing aids are precisely tuned to your degree of hearing loss the technology has advanced
drastically we've gone from a very basic hearing aid that was adjusted with just a tiny screwdriver
to today's high-tech smart hearing aids that have features like artificial intelligence ai activity
sensors wireless connectivity and smartphone integration these technological changes have
really transformed what a hearing aid is and are revolutionizing the hearing healthcare industry
there's really never been a better time to try hearing aids
feature number one digital hearing aids. hearing aids today are digital this means that they have
a computer chip that transforms all sound into data points of ones and zeros this is a language
that computers understand the digital coding of sound allows for a very accurate adjustment of
the hearing aid to accommodate the user's hearing loss the hearing aid is digitally programmed to
provide more volume for the exact sounds that the person cannot hear this custom tuning is
based upon all the results from the audiogram or hearing test. feature number two fast processing .
the computer chip in your hearing aid makes nearly instantaneous decisions on how to change sound in
a way that sounds the best to your ears hearing aids constantly listen to all sounds around you
and decide how to automatically filter out noise and maximize speech understanding and clarity
older hearing aids required a manual adjustment by the user to filter out background noises
but now all of this happens behind the scenes hearing aids today have multiple settings
that automatically switch on or off depending on the sounds in your environment this will allow
you to maximize your ability to understand speech. feature number three noise cancelling hearing aids.
a hearing aid automatically reduces some of the background noise in your environment in two ways
first multiple microphones in the hearing aid work together to focus on the sounds
that are in front of the person while reducing sensitivity to sounds from the side and back
also low frequency or bass sounds are reduced to remove additional noise
so that important speech sounds can be emphasized some hearing aids today automatically determine
where speech is coming from and then redirect the microphone sensitivity toward the speaker
no matter if they're beside you or behind you. feature number four compact size.
hearing aids today provide more features in a more compact and discreet casing than ever before
one of the most popular styles is a miniature behind the ear or bte hearing aid style this rests
behind your ear and under your hair a small tube or wire is inserted into the ear to deliver sound
another option is a small hearing aid that is custom molded to fit inside the ear some of the
smallest hearing aids are the completely in canal or cic and the invisible in canal iic hearing aid
these two smallest hearing aids are more limited in how the user can adjust them
and they're more likely to need extra care and attention for cleaning
but their tiny size makes them very popular for those who are concerned with appearance and it
might be an appropriate solution for you. feature number five improve sound quality for music.
hearing aids can have a setting especially for music that engages automatically or is
manually activated by the user these settings allow for more natural less
processed sound quality music sounds better with today's hearing aids due to an extended dynamic
range an extended frequency response and surround sound microphone settings historically hearing
aids have been focused on speech frequency sounds to maximize speech understanding
hearing aid users can now enjoy music while better understanding the conversations around them
feature number six out of the box hearing aid fitting.
this is one of the most amazing things about today's hearing aids depending on your level of
hearing loss it's possible to have your hearing tested and be fit with new custom tuned hearing
aids on the same day it's called an open fit hearing aid the hearing aid itself sits behind
your ear and it has a small wire with a plastic ear tip that sends sounds down into the ear canal
these hearing aids can be stored in a clinic for demonstration purposes and then quickly adjusted
to fit a person's hearing loss the sound quality of an open fit hearing aid is often easier to
adapt to since it doesn't require any custom ear molds. feature number seven direct tv connection.
hearing the tv clearly is a top concern for many patients there's many wireless headphone
systems on the market today however if you have a hearing aid that connects directly to television
this will provide superior sound quality this requires a small box that connects to the tv
and then that box transmits sounds out to the hearing aid some models of these tv hearing
devices use a necklace device or something that clips to the shirt to send sound to the hearing
aids whatever device your hearing aids support ask your provider about this exciting technology
feature number eight phone call. streaming hearing on the phone can be difficult if you
have hearing loss but many hearing aids today have Bluetooth technology this allows you to
connect your hearing aids to a cell phone with either a neck worn or clip-on adapter
some hearing aids connect to cell phones directly this technology will allow you to hear the phone
in both ears while being able to have your cell phone sit on the table hearing the phone call
on both ears can make speech understanding much easier there's also wireless landline
phones that can stream the sound to the hearing aids using hearing aids and phones together used
to cause a lot of whistling however this new streaming technology will eliminate that problem
and greatly improve sound quality. feature number nine connect to your smartphone tablet or computer.
in addition to cell phone streaming some hearing aids today allow you to stream
sounds via Bluetooth from your smartphone tablet or computer this can include music
movies or sounds from any app on your device sounds that are stringed from these devices
are customized to the user's hearing loss so they'll be able to hear their very best
this technology effectively transforms hearing aids into customized Bluetooth headphones
feature number 10 internet connectivity and artificial intelligence.
a new technology is smart hearing aids that connects you with other devices in your home
something called if this then that technology allows the user to have an alert sound in their
hearing aids when something happens at home such as if somebody rings your doorbell or if
a security alarm sounds artificial intelligence is beginning to be used in hearing aids to make
more decisions on how to best modify sound to help the hearing aid user hear their best integrated
sensor technology is also being introduced into hearing aids to track the hearing aid
user's activities similar to a smart watch device on the market so now when somebody says hearing
aids you should think about quick customization connectivity to smartphones and cutting edge
technology like artificial intelligence these top features of today's best hearing aids have really
revolutionized what a hearing aid can do and it can absolutely change your life for the better
remember Pro Fit Hearing brings you the best insight in today's latest hearing aids headphones
and audio technology to improve your life if you have concerns about your hearing always consult
with your local physician or audiologist thanks for watching and i'll see you in the next video