High-Tech Features of Modern Hearing Aids

Far from the bulky and not always practical contraptions of the 1970s, modern-day hearing aids are powerful, sleek and significantly more effective. No longer do hearing aids simply rest uncomfortably in the ear and amplify sounds using rudimentary technology – modern releases ensure user ease and comfort thanks to cutting-edge designs, rechargeable batteries and features that even make it possible to block out things like background noise.

Even better, hearing aid technology has by no means advanced to its best, with continual improvements forever ensuring adaptations in keeping with our modern lives. If you’ve been letting fear of old-school hearing aids put you off seeking the help of a hearing instrument specialist (HIS), then you can certainly put those fears to bed by considering the following three high-tech features that are in the process of taking modern hearing aids by storm.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has changed the way we do most things, and hearing aids are no exception. In fact, AI is changing hearing aids in a range of ways, all of which are making for more intuitive, automatically adaptive hearing solutions.

In particular, hearing aids that utilize AI and machine learning technology can listen and respond to the environments and desires of the user, ensuring a unique hearing experience that is the closest to natural hearing that’s ever been possible. Cutting-edge AI hearing aid releases are also beginning to track user health in general for a more rounded picture of wellness, as well as to help identify any secondary factors for hearing problems.

Users can especially benefit from AI hearing aids that make it possible to pre-program a range of reliable, environment-dependent settings like:

• Volume control
• Program preferences
• Input focuses

Even hearing instrument specialists can benefit from the vast data stores that AI hearing aids can collect and operate around. It’s certainly easier than ever for your HIS to ensure hearing aid fittings with results that are always tailored to you, your needs and the settings that you’re regularly exposed to.

Smartphone Connectivity

We do everything on our phones now, so why should our hearing aids be any different? To some extent, this benefit is related to AI, but hearing aids that come complete with a smartphone app still bring plenty of benefits in their own right.

The subtlety possible with app-based hearing aid controls and adjustments is especially beneficial for users who prefer not to draw attention to satisfyingly sleek hearing aid designs, and can include all manner of crucial processes performed at the click of a button, including –

• Controlling hearing aid volume
• Checking battery levels
• Switching between programs
• Converting speech into text or different languages.
• Streaming audio or phone calls directly through your hearing aid.

In each instance, these features can significantly enhance the experience of the wearer, ensuring not only that hearing aids are always functioning as they should, but that they also provide a multitude of additional features which would never have been possible as little as ten years ago.

Automatic Directional Microphones

Hearing aids have been working to effectively improve hearing in all settings since their inception, and professionally fitted models have long done a great job at achieving that. However, there has always been some room for improvement, particularly when hearing aids are used in loud environments where background noise can too often become problematic for users.

This is a problem that automatic directional microphones within many modern hearing aids are helping users to overcome through technology that sees two microphones being automatically switched depending on the direction of primary sounds. This makes it possible to hear more easily what the person in front of you is saying while phasing out background disruptions.

In the case of the most advanced example of this technology, certain hearing aids can even further this benefit by using four in-sync microphones across hearing aids in either ear for the best possible sound focus users could hope for.

Admittedly, this technology requires certain features to work, meaning that it’s generally not available with complete in-ear options. That said, there are still plenty of slightly larger models making it easier than ever to enhance hearing aid efficiency.

To benefit from these top technologies, and to understand first-hand what they can do for you, simply contact an experienced HIS with access to the latest launches, like every single member of our team here at Hear Clear, by calling us at (603) 455-8777 today.