Hearing Technology: 5 Amazing Things You Didn’t Know

Hearing technology has come a long way over the past decades. If you are still remembering the old devices you saw on your elderly relatives when you were a child, here’s a piece of news for you. Hearing instruments have changed dramatically and for the better!

But first of all, let’s talk about hearing loss. Contrary to common belief, hearing loss can affect people of any age. It is wrongly associated with old age. In reality, hearing loss is linked to damage to the inner ear, which can occur as a result of unprotected exposure to loud sounds, infections, traumatic injury, or even in connection with other medical conditions such as diabetes. While natural degeneration also occurs in old age, there are many other contributing factors to wearing hearing aids. If you are still concerned about hearing aid fittings, here are 5 things that will change your mind.

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#1. They preserve your brain health

When you experience hearing loss, the part of your brain responsible for analyzing and processing sounds becomes less and less active. Gradually, it can result in brain atrophy. In the long term, it can affect brain health and even contribute to developing dementia and further cognitive decline disorders.

#2. They are barely noticeable

You can forget about the huge hearing devices you remember seeing in your childhood. Nowadays, it is practically impossible to spot people wearing hearing instruments.

There is a huge range of devices that comes in different sizes and fit your ear:

ITC: in-the-canal instruments sit inside the ear and have no external component.
ITE: in-the-ear instruments are similar and not noticeable on the outside of your ear.
BTE: behind-the-ear devices are typically small, and the majority of them can be perfectly hidden behind your ear.

These cover the best part of most hearing instruments available over the counter and on prescription.

#3. They use Bluetooth connectivity

Bluetooth is not just a fancy feature reserved for tech heads. More and more hearing devices have a Bluetooth function, which enables them to connect directly to phones, TV, and other communication and entertainment items in your environment.

This can serve many purposes:

The sound is directly transmitted to your device
There is no need to increase the volume
It guarantees the privacy of your communication or entertainment

#4. They can connect to a smartphone app

There is an app for everything, and there is also one for hearing devices. The importance of using app technology is revolutionary for those with hearing loss. Indeed, depending on your environment, you may need different levels of correction. For instance, if you are attending a loud event, you want to protect your hearing health and reduce exposure to loud noises. On the other hand, if you are in a professional meeting, you want to make sure you can hear what people are saying, even if they are not directly facing you. Users can switch to different hearing-correcting programs via an app or even adjust the settings digitally.