Hearing Aid Technology

Chances are, you've heard a lot about digital hearing instruments lately. You may be aware that they can improve your hearing much better than analog technology. But just how do digital aids work? And why do they sound better?

In simple terms, it's much like the difference in the sound quality of a CD versus a cassette tape. Or a cellular phone versus a digital mobile phone.

Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is a much faster and more efficient method of processing sound. It's like having a tiny computer encapsulated into the hearing aid. Digital hearing aids have one or more microchip processors that convert sound waves into computer language, allowing sounds to be sampled at a much faster rate than analog technology. Once the sound waves have been sampled, the digital hearing instrument's algorithm analyzes and alters the sounds to compensate for specific hearing loss characteristics. The result is a much better sound quality.

Technically speaking, one of the most unique attributes of digital technology is the algorithm. A digital hearing aid functions much like the hardware of a computer, while the algorithm is comparable to a PCs software. Armstrong Hearing Aid Center is able to customize the hearing aid's algorithm to match your individual hearing profile.

Practically speaking, if your hearing test shows a loss in certain high frequencies, but not in low frequencies, the algorithm can be programmed to manipulate only high frequency sounds -- compensating for the sounds that you're not hearing. The bottom line is that DSP technology is designed to focus on the sounds your missing rather than just amplifying sounds across an entire range.

As wireless technology continues to evolve into our daily lives, Audibel is striving to provide new and unique communication solutions to significantly enhance the quality of life for both hearing impaired and non-impaired people.