The main types of hearing aids available today are Conventional or Analog and Digital.
Conventional / Analog hearing aids are basically amplifiers that feature manual volume controls and manual fine-tuning. These hearing aids are primarily beneficial for listening in easy, relatively quiet situations, such as one-on-one conversation and listening to the television, because all of the sounds are typically amplified in exactly the same way. This technology provides limited flexibility in meeting individual needs.
Digital Hearing Aid Technology
Digital hearing technology has revolutionized hearing rehabilitation by accurately providing near natural sound quality. Digital hearing aids have many benefits and lots of automatic features which cater to the client’s complete satisfaction, both in terms of cosmetic concerns as well as hearing comfort. These computerized instruments are customized and specifically programmed live. It provides all future fine-tuning options to support the client’s changing needs.
Digital technology accounts for most of the hearing aids fitted today. In fact, the basic digital hearing aid cost about the same as the conventional analog hearing aid. The digital hearing aid contains a computer chip that amplifies sounds digitally. The quality of the sound produced by the computer chip is excellent.
Digital hearing aids are flexible and can be re-programmed by our highly trained clinician by using a computer that is equipped with special software as well as hardware that allows the hearing aid and computer to be connected. Digital hearing aids can act on soft sounds in one way and on loud sounds in a completely different fashion. Digital hearing aids also have a variety of bands or equalizers. Depending on the level of the digital technology there may be as few as two bands or as many as twenty + bands. The more advanced the digital chip the more bands that it will possess. Most of the digital hearing aids have the capability to reduce environmental noises such as traffic noises or dishes clanging.