What To Expect From Digital Hearing Aid Software

Did you know that digital hearing aids use software, similar to the software you use on your computer, to process sound? It's true. Thanks to modern technology, hearing aids have evolved: from the old-fashioned horn or trumpet that the hard of hearing would hold up to their ears one hundred years ago, to the behind-the-ear analog hearing aids that were once considered revolutionary, to inside-the-ear and implanted digital hearing aids with software that uses digital sound processing to amplify, process, and adjust sound.

Getting Fitted For A Digital Hearing Aid With Software

In many ways, getting fitted for a digital hearing aid is similar to getting fitted for an analog hearing aid. First, you hearing will be tested by an audiologist. After your test is complete, the expert will make a mold of your ear and fit you with one or two hearing aids that will fit inside your ear. Even if you only have a hearing loss in one ear, the audiologist will fit you with two digital hearing aids with software for balance and symmetry.

A few weeks after your initial fitting, you will return to the audiologist's office to pick up your new hearing aids. Software that your audiologist has access to will be used to adjust the hearing aids to your level of hearing, based on the hearing tests that you took at your previous appointment.

The Adjustment Period

Prepare to be amazed at the new sounds you hear the first time you wear your hearing aids.

One middle-aged man who was fitted for hearing aids walked into his home for the first time with his hearing aids on and asked his wife, "Do we have an indoor fountain?" because he heard the rush of water as soon as he walked in the door. It turns out that the toilet in their powder room had been leaking, and the wife had been nagging him for weeks to fix the toilet leak. He hadn't heard the water as it flowed from the leak, so it was not a priority to him. To his wife's great relief, he fixed the toilet that day.

The Final Adjustment

Hearing aid software can be adjusted to filter background noise, amplify the sound of human voices, and adjust to different environments with various noise levels. That is why a third visit to the audiologist is required. At that visit, you will describe to the audiologist times when your hearing aids did not pick up all the sound you wanted to hear, or times when you were uncomfortable because the sounds were too loud. The audiologist will again use hearing aid software to adjust the hearing aids.

Lower Cost

Hearing aids that use digital software are generally less expensive than analog hearing aids. The manufacturer can send a dozen identical hearing aids to the audiologist, who can use software to adjust hearing aids to suit a dozen individual patients with different needs. Analog hearing aids had to be adjusted by the manufacturer at the time they were made, adding considerably to their cost.