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Digital Hearing Aid
Digital hearing aids are
the latest advancement for hearing impaired people. They
use a digital circuit to analyze and process sound and
are much less bulky than the older hearing aids we grew
up with. A Digital hearing aid offers many advantages
over their analog counterparts. They supply gain
processing, which gives the user a greater hearing for
sounds of interest versus background noises. You also
get better digital feedback reduction, digital noise
reduction, and digital speech enhancement
The main difference between analogue, the conventional
system, and digital, the new technology, is in their
method of conversion. Analogue converts sound waves to
electrical waves while digital converts sound waves
using exact mathematical calculations that are processed
by a computer.
Translate sound to digital code, change it and
re-transmit it back by using mathematical calculations.
Duplicates sound transmission.
Produces a high quality sound that is extremely
accurate.
Many believe that the digital system has revolutionized
hearing by accurately duplicating sound transmission.
Digital hearing aids have many benefits and lots of
automatic features.
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High-Tech Hearing
Hearing aid devices work by magnifying the sound that is
transmitted from your surroundings to your inner ear to
improve your hearing capabilities. The majority of
hearing aid manufacturers are eliminating the production
of the old analog hearing aids. They have been replaced
by digital hearing equipment.
Digital Processing
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association, there are at least 20 manufacturers of
digital hearing aids that are sold under more than three
dozen different model names. The digital processing of
hearing aids involves the intricate management of
signals. The technology consists of the use of a
computer chip that translates external sound into
digital code that can be evaluated and fine-tuned for
each wearer. The signals are then transferred back into
sound waves and transported to your ears.
Hearing aids today are digital, meaning incoming signals
are converted into a series of numbers, which is then
processed using mathematical equations. Digital
processing enables very complex manipulation of signals,
for example, to separate speech from noise. Many hearing
aids today have more processing power than your desktop
computer – gone are the days when hearing aids were
simple amplifiers. Complex algorithms separate sound
into different frequency regions and amplify each region
selectively, depending on the wearer’s hearing loss.
Algorithms also enable different amounts of
amplification for soft, moderate, and loud sounds, so
sounds are audible, but loud sounds are not
uncomfortable or over amplified. And, digital processing
ensures a precise replication of the original signal
with minimal distortion, resulting in excellent sound
quality for even the most discriminating audiophiles.
The most popular
Brand wise Digital Hearing Aid product list:
Phonak :
Audeo SMART,
Audeo MINI,
Audeo YES,
Audeo Zip,
Exelia Art,
Versata Art,
Certena Art,
Naida,
Milo,
Nios Micro,
Savia Art,
Eleva,
eXtra,
Audeo S,
micro power,
Una,
Ambra,
Ok! plus,
Solana,
Cassia
You can check the product details in
their respective pages and
phonak complete price list
in India
Siemens :
Life,
Pure,
Nitro,
Motion,
Explorer,
Centra,
Phoenix one,
Intuis
You can check the digital hearing aid
product details in their respective pages and
siemens complete price list
in India
We have other brands also
like widex, oticon, gn resound, unitron, starkey
There are two types of Digital hearing
aids :
- which are programmed using screw
drivers
- other is computer programmable
Digital hearing aids which uses screw
drivers to be programmed are low priced. There price/
cost ranges between Rs 6000 to Rs 10,000 (INR)
Digital hearing aid which uses
computer to be programmed are high end digital hearing
aids. There price / cost varies from Rs 10,000 to Rs
2,05,000 (INR)
The hearing aids come from the
manufacturer un-programmed. We perform all programming
in front of the patient, according to their hearing
evaluation results and subjective preferences. When a
hearing aid is purchased, all programming and follow-up
appointments are included in the cost of the hearing
aid. It is usually necessary to make several adjustments
after the patient has worn the new hearing aids for a
period of time – after the brain adjusts to the new
sounds and the patient has been in a variety of
listening situations.
The most popular computer programmable digital hearing
aids are:
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INFINITI Pro SP BTE - By Siemens |
Rs 11490.00 |
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Phonak Ambra |
micro BTE,
BTE, CIC, ITC,half shell, full shell |
Rs 2,05,000 |
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There are 4 classes
into which you can divide digital
hearing aids:
Economy Aids: An
aid with digital circuits but not computer programmable.
Analog-adjustable aids fit this class where an audiologist will
determine the volume and other specifications and the
manufacturer builds the unit. It will have limited
ability to make adjustments however as far as hearing
aid prices go, these are usually cheap hearing aids.
Improved Performance: These
move to a computer programmable aid offering more
flexibility and a customized fit. One of the basic
features is multi-channel programming.
More Advanced: Aids
that offer some automation and improved flexibility.
They generally include the ability to automatically
adjust to noise and a basic feedback reduction
capability.
The Upper End: Premium
hearing aids are typically fully automatic with programs
that change to the sound environment. They can include
speech enhancement features that add clarity in noisy
situations.
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