4 Hearing Aid Features
There are many different types and variations of hearing aids. The features available to you depend on the type of hearing aid your audiologist prescribes. There are common features you will find in many of them, however, such as a directional microphone, a telephone switch, direct audio input, and feedback suppression. If you are interested in one or more of these features, talk to your audiologist.
Directional Microphone
This feature helps you hear and talk when the environment is noisy. It lets you hear sound that is coming from a direction you choose; the hearing aid amplifies this sound more than that coming from other directions. When you activate this feature, the sound that is coming in front of you, such as when you are conversing with someone, is louder than the sound coming from behind you.
Telephone Switch
This feature allows you to switch the hearing aid from a normal microphone setting to a telephone one so you can hear better when you are talking on the phone. Wired telephones on the market today are hearing-aid compatible. With the telephone switch setting, sounds surrounding you are eliminated, which lets you better hear the person you are speaking with. When using this feature, the microphone on the hearing aid is turned off so you do not hear a whistling sound when you are talking.
This features also works well in places that have an FM installation or an induction loop, such as in auditoriums, theaters, churches, etc. The voice of the person speaking may be at some distance from you. Their voice is amplified enough so it is louder than the background noise.
Direct Audio Input
This feature lets you plug the hearing aid into an FM assistive listening system or a remote microphone. It also allows you to connect to devices like a radio, tape CD/DVD player, or your computer, as well as directly to your television so that you can hear these things much better.
Feedback Suppression
This will suppress squeals that you may hear if your hearing aid is too close to a phone, or if the ear mold is loose fitting.
A specialist like those at Audiologists Northwest can go over these features with you so you can choose what will work best with your situation. There are also some more complicated features to help improve your hearing. These features may improve the performance of your hearing aid when listening in specific situations. These more sophisticated hearing aids may cost much more money, however, if your insurance will not cover it.
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