How Do Hearing Aids Work? Everything You Need to Know

If you’ve recently had a hearing test, you may have discovered that you need a hearing aid. So, you might be wondering how exactly hearing aids work, and what your options are when it comes to the different styles.

How Hearing Aids Work

Although there is a wide range of different hearing aid styles to meet your needs, all of them function in a similar manner and contain the same basic components. For a hearing aid to work, it requires a microphone, a microchip, a receiver, and amplifier, and a power source.

A microphone inside the hearing aid picks up sound from the surrounding environment and turns it into an electrical signal. Using the amplifier, the hearing aid then amplifies this signal before the amplifier turns it back into a sound that you can hear. Like any electrical device, a hearing aid requires a power source to work.

Modern digital hearing aids also come equipped with a microchip which allows them to intelligently analyse incoming sound to distinguish between the sounds you want to hear and background noise. Digital hearing aids can also be programmed to amplify certain frequencies rather than others, allowing your audiologist to configure it more specifically to your individual hearing loss and the type of listening environments you are usually in.

Different Styles of Hearing Aids

There are a number of different hearing aid styles to choose from and which one will be right for you will depend on the severity and type of your hearing loss, your budget, and which hearing aid will be the best fit for your lifestyle. Hearing aid styles are divided into three main categories: in-the-ear, behind-the-ear, and in-the-canal.

In-the-ear hearing aids are a versatile style that can be used to help with mild through to severe hearing loss. Due to their size, they are easier to handle and the whole devices fits into your ear in an individually moulded case.

Behind-the-ear hearing aids are the most common style used by people. This type of hearing aid usually consists of a plastic case worn behind the ear which connects to a plastic ear mould that sits in the outer ear. The way these hearing aids transmit sound into your ear is either through a piece of clear flexible tubing, through a wire running to a minute loudspeaker, or through tubing which rungs to a small tip inside your ear canal – rather than tubing which connects to an ear mould.

The most discrete style of hearing aid you can wear is an in-the-canal hearing aid. These come in two different varieties: in the canal, and completely in the canal. Both varieties of in-the-canal hearing aids fit inside your ear canal, making them completely invisible unless someone is looking directly into your ear.

Phonak Hearing Aids

Here at Camden Contact Lens Centre , we stock a large portfolio of Phonak hearing aids, to ensure that you have the highest quality of hearing aid options at your disposal following your hearing test. The Swiss manufacturer is well-known for its commitment to cutting-edge hearing solutions and has over 70 years of experience in creating hearing aids. They create a wide range of hearing aid styles, ensuring that you will be able to find the perfect one to match your needs and lifestyle.

How a Hearing Aid Can Help You

It’s a common misconception that hearing aids can only offer a better quality of life for those with hearing loss in both ears or a severe degree of hearing loss. In reality, hearing aids are beneficial even if you only have mild hearing loss or have only experienced hearing loss in one ear.

If you have been having trouble with your hearing lately,Book your free hearing test online, by calling us on 0207 383 3838, or emailing us at info@camdenopticians.com.