All About Hearing Aids

By Author: limi santos
Total Articles: 50
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A lot of people have heard about hearing aids or they know of someone who is currently using one. However, there are a lot of things about the hearing aid that are not exactly common knowledge, such as how do they work, why do they cost so much money and who really needs a hearing aid.

Function of a Hearing Aid

Hearing aids are prosthetic devices that are inserted into the ear canal to enable the person to be able to hear well. The hearing aid itself is composed of an outer shell and microphone to help pick up the sound. Internally there are components that allow the sound to be able to travel through them much like a processor that examines the sound. Then the hearing aid will be able to react by either turning the sound up or down to help make the sound clear for the user. Inside of the hearing aid the computer has been programmed to meet your specific needs. After the processor has been adjusted to the sound, it will then send it through the receiver in the ear canal to make the sound audible.

What is the Potential Outcome?

After an audio-metric test has been performed, it will be easier to determine ...
... what the benefits of a hearing aid will be for your specific case. Hearing aids were originally designed to be able to enhance your hearing range when in a conversation or speaking. Some of the noise ranges would not be comfortable if they were amplified with a hearing aid. In the deaf communities, hearing aids are able to provide a way of hearing louder noises so that they can be aware of what is going on around them and be safe.

What is the Process Involved?

A specialist will be able to determine what type of hearing aid is going to work the best for your situation based upon the results of your hearing test and certain physical attributes of the individual, such as lifestyle, dexterity and size of the ear canal. After the specific style has been determined, a mold will need to be taken of the ear canal. The hearing aid will be programmed specifically to the results of your hearing test. You will be shown how to properly insert the hearing aid into your ear, as well as how to remove it. The doctor will also explain what you need to do in order to adjust your hearing aid for different volumes and sound quality. On average you can expect this process to take about an hour of your time. Once the mold has been taken, you can expect to receive your hearing aid in about two weeks.

Benefits of Hearing Aids

When you are wearing a hearing aid, it is going to help stimulate parts of your brain that control hearing. Since most of the time those parts have been damaged, it will take some time to be able to go through the rehabilitation process for this part of your brain. Hearing aids will not cure your hearing problem, nor will they be able to reverse the damage already done.

What they can do is help you to be able to hear well and stimulate the specific area in your brain that controls your hearing to make sure that you are able to understand conversations. Just like any other prosthetic device you will need to allow time for rehabilitation and adjustment. You will be retraining that area of your body and you need to be realistic about what to expect. On average it is about six months to become fully adjusted to your new hearing aid.

Dr. Duncan specializes in advanced technology hearing aid fittings, hearing testing and other assistive technology such as television amplifiers and amplified telephones. Duncan Hearing Healthcare also offers a line of products designed for non-hearing impaired individuals such as Custom Fit Bluetooth headsets for use with cellular telephones and Custom fit Earpieces for IPOD music devices. Dr. Duncan received her Masters degree in Audiology from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 1997 and her doctorate in Audiology from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 2005.

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