Home > Working With What's Left > Digital Hearing Aid Technology > Advanced Features
Digital signal processing and the many features it enables have made today's hearing aids more effective than ever before. Digital signal processing converts acoustic sounds to digital sounds to digital signals and intelligently classifies speech, noise, music or feedback. Digital signal processing triggers automatic activation of advanced features.
Directional Microphones
Directional microphones are 2nd and 3rd microphones that can be added to the hearing aids for improved speech in noise performance, Most of the lower and mid-tier digital instruments have fixed directional microphone systems that must be manually turned on and have fixed "polar patterns" that reduce sounds from the side and back and focus on sounds to the front.
The more advanced instruments have directional microphones that can be adaptive, automatic or dynamic ("intelligent" directional microphones). These more advanced directional systems have the ability to self-engage in noisy situations and can automatically analyze your listening environment and optimize the directional microphones for the best possible results.
Digital Noise Management or Noise Reduction
The most common complaint of those with hearing loss and of many hearing aid users is of difficulty hearing in noisy environments. As hearing acuity diminishes, the ability of our ears to focus on speech sounds in the presence of background noise is diminished.
 Noise management or noise reduction is the ability of hearing aids to differentiate between speech sounds and noise sounds and to minimize the noise while amplifying the speech. Effective noise management can improve your ability to hear speech in noisy or difficult environments.
Wind noise is a special noise management challenge for hearing aids. Wind noise is different from most background noise and must be treated differently by a hearing aid. Some of the more advanced hearing aids have special wind noise managers to minimize annoying wind noise. If you spend significant time outside where wind noise is a factor, a hearing aid with a wind noise manager may be right for you.
Sound Relax
Sound Relax quickly identifies loud transient high frequency sounds (such as the clinking of dishes or the crackling of newspaper) and quickly eliminate them, making the hearing aid experience much more comfortable. The volume reduction does not change the sound in any other way.
AntiShock
AntiShock instantly identifies and minimizes sudden impulse sounds, such as the abrupt slamming of a door, without eliminating or making the sounds unrecognizable. In addition, AntiShock is able to distinguish undesirable from desirable sounds so that speech is not impaired.
No more loud, sudden noises which can startle you and make your listening experience annoying.
 
NEXT: Brands and Products
|
|
