Hearing aid features - a summary
Different hearing aid manufacturers may use a range of terms to describe the features listed below. Your audiologist will be happy to answer any questions about hearing aid features and how they may or may not be helpful for you.
| Feature | What does it do? | How does it help? |
| Input compression/Wide dynamic range compression | Automatic volume adjustment. Provides more amplification for soft sounds and less for loud sounds. | Helps most hearing impaired people. - No need to alter the volume of the aid
- Improved comfort in noise
- Improved safety against loud sounds
- May make it easier to hear soft speech, in quiet conditions, and to hear soft environmental sounds
|
| Directional microphones | Concentrates on sound coming from directly in front of the listener. | - Improved hearing of conversation in background noise
- Switchable directional microphones allow the listeneer to move between omni-directional (picking up sounds from all directions) and directional
- Automatic switching is available on some aids
|
| Noise reduction circuitry | Aims to reduce background noise | Improved comfort and possibly better speech understanding in background noise |
| Multiple channel hearing aids | Divides the incoming sound into a numer of different parts. Each part of the signal can then be adjusted separately. | More conrol over the amplified signal may result in: - A better sounding or more comfortable sounding hearing aid
- A hearing aid that can be more closely adjusted to suit the listener's preference
|
| Water resistant hearing aids | Sealed so that rain, splashes of water and moisture don't get into the hearing aid electronics | The hearing aid can be worn in places where it is likely to get damp |
| Telecoil/Induction loop | Picks up signals direct from an induction loop device (eg in the telephone handset or looped section of cinema) | The listener can hear the desired sound without interference from background noise |
| Radio Frequency (FM) Unit | Worn with hearing aids. Parent or teacher uses a radio transmitter to send their voice directly to the listener's hearing aids | Improves hearing of the parent's or teacher's voice over distance and in noisy situations |
| Feedback management systems | Detects feedback whistle from the hearing aid and adjusts the amplification to stop the whistle | May make it easier to wear the hearing aid on a suitable volume setting. |
