Why People Need Hearing Aids

Being unable to hear can occur any time in life, some people even being born with the problem. This condition is especially devastating to someone who has had no problem of this kind their entire life and suddenly cannot hear others when they are speaking. When this happens people seek out their doctor and, if there is no other recourse, turn to hearing aids.

An examination should be done, by a person’s physician, prior to any more formal testing taking place. This will determine if there is hard wax blocking the ear, a growth or some other thing wrong that can be corrected surgically. When it is determined that none of these causes are present the patient will be sent to a audiologist for a sound test.

This loss is ranked according to the amount of sound a person can hear. This ranking is mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe and profound. This test is usually given in a closed room although there is another test called speech-in-noise test. In this case, a person will be tested for how well they can hear and understand conversation in a noisy room.

There are a number of ways people approach the onset of a this loss. When things such as surgery, an implant and other severe measures are ruled out the majority of people will settle for a hearing aid, which fits on the ear and magnifies the sounds. These devices vary greatly, both in appearance and sound magnification ability.

Aids are devices that work electronically by amplifying sounds and relaying them to the ear. It is composed of three parts, the microphone, amplifier and receiver. The microphone gathers the sounds, the amplifier changes it into digital signals and the receiver transmits it to the eardrum. It should be understood that these devices do not work if there is a total hearing loss, a person must be able to hear some sounds.

Over the years these aids have changed greatly in their construction as well as their operation. Pictures in old books show hard of hearing people holding a huge cone-like contraption with which the narrow end is held in their ear. The large end caught noise and then ‘funneled’ it into the ear. Fortunately, today’s population has the benefit of modern technology and can, in many cases, hear quite clearly with a this kind of assistance. These hearing aids can fit behind the ear, or be almost invisible.