Hearing aids are devices that has helped thousands of people hear normally again. They are electronic communication devices which can help you hear the sounds you are missing out on. The hearing aid has an artificial intelligence built-in computer chip which gives you details of sounds while at the same time it reduces the noise in the background so that you can get the best sound experience possible.
If you are facing a hearing loss problem, do not panic as these amazing devices can help you hear as you did before. The first thing you should do, is visit an audiologist to get your hearing device measured and fitted in the ear based on a prescription for your hearing needs. Hearing aids are electroacoustic devices designed to amplify the sound for those who wear it, with the sole purpose to correct impaired hearing and make speech more intelligible.
These small devices can be placed either in or around the ear to improve hearing. The basic components of hearing aids are a microphone, a receiver (which is also known as a speaker), signal conditioning and a battery. The microphone converts the sound into an electric signal. After this, the signal undergoes conditioning which can be as simple as amplifying all of the sound equally, to more advanced equalization which includes a digital signal processor. After this is being done, the receiver converts the electronic signal back to sound, and the battery powers the electronics.
Features
Nowadays, there is a wide array of features available for hearing aids, among which are remote control, volume control, telecoil, FM reception, direct audio input, Bluetooth® capabilities, compression, clipping, directional microphone, frequency shifting, wind-noise management, self-learning, data logging, moisture resistance, and earmold venting. Some of these features require external area where they can be implemented and sometimes it can be difficult to include them since the size of the hearing aids will shrink. On the other hand, other features can be implemented in all hearing aids without any problem.
Power and Battery
Today, some hearing aids have started to operate with rechargeable single-cell lithium-ion (Li+) batteries, but most of them still work with the power of primary zinc-air batteries. Depending on the hearing aid size and style, the battery-life requirements as well as the power consumption of the circuitry, there are five main sizes of zinc-air batteries that are used.
General requirements
The main parts of the hearing aid design are in the audio-processing path. The receiver and the one or several microphones are chosen in conjunction with the speaker amplifiers and preamplifiers (in case they are required). The heart of the system is the digital signal processor (DSP), and this is where all of the digital hearing aid benefits are implemented.