Smart Hearing AIDS: Advancement in Hearing Aid Technology

February 10, 2021

3 min read

With the increase in the level of technology, hearing aid technology is becoming more automatic and includes advanced features to help individuals communicate better in challenging listening situations. Innovative technology can now help you or your loved one hear more clearly, but also detect things like a fall or heart rate.

Advanced technologies translate to greater benefits in hearing aids. Below are some advancements in hearing aid technology.

1. Artificial Intelligence

Algorithms enable the hearing device to:

Analyze your environment and the different sounds that come in
Identify specific people and sounds
Automatically adjust the audio based on your hearing loss level and preferences you preselect

The hearing device learns how to identify certain voices in order to focus on what's familiar, decreasing the need for you to adjust it manually throughout the day.

2. Fall Detection

Similar to new smartwatches, certain high-tech hearing devices are able to determine if you've taken a fall. Then, they connect to your smartphone wirelessly to text contacts you've preselected or 911. In order for this feature to work properly, however, the hearing device needs to stay next to the smartphone it's paired up with.

3. Ear-to-Ear Connection Hearing Aid Synchrony

Older hearing devices used to function as monaural devices, which means the hearing device for your left ear and that of your right ear worked independently from one another. With the ear-to-ear connection feature, referred to as binaural capability, the hearing devices are attached to a wireless signal. First, if you adjust one hearing device, your desired change will also take effect automatically on the other hearing device.

Next, rather than you being bombarded with various sounds that come into each ear depending on the person you're talking to, hearing devices that have ear-to-ear connection create an overall sound that will resemble natural hearing.

4. Innovations in Hearing Aid Apps

Two app categories also exist for connecting your hearing device with your tablet or smartphone.

Category one is hearing aid amplifier apps, which use their built-in microphone to amplify the outside noises around you. Certain ones can also help equalize noise between your ears and reduce background noise while they bring certain noises to the forefront.
Category two is hearing aid controller apps, which allow you to adjust and control your hearing device directly from your smartphone app. The common more popular control apps are made by several top manufacturers of hearing devices and are both Android and iPhone compatible.

5. Bluetooth Compatibility

This is a wireless feature enabling hearing devices to connect to devices using Bluetooth, frequently through an intermediary device. This Bluetooth technology can eliminate feedback from the microphone and improve the signal-to-noise ratio due to the signal bypassing the microphone and entering directly into your hearing device's processor. You're less likely to experience interference too with a Bluetooth connection, which often occurs with an FM system.

Foundations and Societies for Smart Hearing Aids

1. Hearing Health Foundation: The mission of the Hearing Health Foundation is preventing and curing tinnitus and hearing loss through innovative research and promoting hearing health.

2. Hearing Loss Association of America: This is a tax-exempt, charitable organization that, under the IRS Code 501(c)(3) code, is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

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