Tips for Hearing in Noise

By Patricia B. Kricos, Ph.D.

Editor: Dr. Kricos has been researching and writing about hearing loss for lots of years, and always has interesting and helpful comments about dealing with hearing loss. This is the third of a series of articles written by Dr. Kricos for BHI, and is shared with their kind permission. The other articles were Communication strategies: It takes two to tango!" and "Clear speech for communication partners."

This is part one of three parts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June 2008

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Ask new hearing aid users to name the number one thing they like about their new hearing aids, and they will probably answer, "I don't have to strain so much to hear anymore!" Ask them to name the number one thing they don't like, and they will probably say, "I can't stand the background noise. It's driving me crazy!"

Despite tremendous advances in hearing aid technology, even with the latest digital noise reduction circuitry, background noise continues to be a problem. Problematic background noise is any noise that interferes with your ability to hear, understand, and/or pay attention to the signal that you want to hear. Background noise includes traffic noise, music, a marching band; reverberation, which causes sounds to echo when reflected off room surfaces; voices such as children playing and laughing, several people talking at once, or even one person talking in a way that prevents or distracts you from listening to a signal you want to hear, usually another talker. Background noises can particularly bother new hearing aid users during the first few weeks because for years they may not have heard everyday noises such as screeching brakes, clattering dishes, and rustling papers. Most long-time hearing aid users will tell you that the sudden ability to hear annoying noises-loud and clear-is challenging, but the ability to tolerate these noises does get better with time. Remember, you probably have not been hearing much background noise since the onset of your gradual hearing loss.

Experienced hearing aid user or not, noise can affect you in at least two ways. First, it can make it nearly impossible to understand what someone is saying because the noise is louder than the signal you want to hear. Second, noise may be a problem because it distracts you from what the speaker is saying. Even a voice softer than that of the person you are trying to hear can take your attention away from the main source to which you need or want to listen. Although there is no cure for the problems that hearing aid users often experience with distracting noises, some options may at least lessen problems with background noise:

* two hearing aids, rather than just one

* hearing aids with digital signal processing

* hearing aids with a directional microphone option

* FM technology

* auditory training

* communication strategies

Two Hearing Aids or One?

A number of advantages of wearing two hearing aids include better ability to hear sound from either side, increased loudness of sound when two ears are listening, and ability to locate where sounds are occurring. Using two hearing aids will improve speech understanding in noise for most people, at least in normal, everyday communication situations. Some listeners will actually do better with just one hearing aid in either the right ear or the left, but the bulk of scientific evidence to date indicates better and easier speech perception in typical noisy listening situations for the wearer with two hearing aids.

Digital Signal Processing Hearing Aids

In the past decade, the development of digital hearing aids has created advances in signal processing strategies. Hearing aids with digital signal processing (DSP) differentiate between speech and noise, and they turn down the volume when they identify noise. Many people who wear hearing aids with DSP circuitry report less stress because the background noise seems to fade and the quality of speech is better. Although helpful, hearing aids with digital noise reduction at this time are not perfect and cannot completely remove problems associated with trying to listen in noise. As research in this area continues, we probably will see advances in noise reduction technology.

Part One

Part Two