Acoustic (Conventional) Hearing Aids
The most common type of hearing aid is the
acoustic aid, which amplifies sound and sends the amplified acoustic
energy to the eardrum. Unless you have a specific reason to select one
of the other types of hearing aids, this is probably the hearing aid for
you.
If you're looking for information about a specific
hearing aid, please visit the
Conventional
Hearing Aids portion of our Resource Directory.
For information on where in your area to buy a
hearing aid, visit our Local
Service Providers section.
Otherwise, read on! We're fortunate to have reports and opinions from several
experienced hearing aid users to share with you.
How to select a hearing aid
Hearing aid use and care
Information on Specific Hearing Aids
Digital Hearing Aids
Analog Hearing Aids
Earmolds and Tubing
Home Hearing Aid Care,
Adjustment, Fitting, etc.!
Why People Who
Need Hearing Aids Don't Wear Them
Telecoils
Dealing with Background Noise
Open Fit Hearing Aids
Hearing Aid Batteries
Feedback and What to do
about it
Wireless Technology and Hearing Aids
March 2005 - You may be surprised to learn that a
leading audiologist claims that many of his colleagues do NOT do a
proper job of fitting hearing aids!
June 2005 - Here's a
great article on matching hearing aid technologies to individuals.
It's our report on Scot Frink's Hearing Aid Technology workshop at the
Western Symposium on Deafness.
August 2006 - In a looped America, hearing aids would be twice as valuable
October 2006 - Rechargeable
Hearing Aids
November 2006 - How
Do Volume Controls Work, and Do Hearing-Impaired Consumers Really Need
Them?
August 2007 - The Sleek, Chic, High-Tech . . . Hearing Aid
June 2008 - $80 Songbird Disposable Hearing
Aid Debuting Soon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November 2006
Volume controls (VC) have been a feature of hearing
instruments from their inception. Until the mid-1970s, most hearing
instrument manufacturers made their own VCs. When component manufacturers
began offering VCs, however, these components were quickly outsourced.
Today, component manufacturers produce the vast majority of VCs. The first
VCs supplied by component manufacturers were for behind-the-ear (BTE)
hearing instruments. They were large, featuring a wheel diameter of 7 mm
or wider (Figure 1). Smaller VCs were developed as hearing aid
manufacturers began to develop more discreet devices to cope with stigma
issues. Full
Story
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August 2007
Choosing a hearing aid is getting complicated.
Racing green, or cabernet red? A sleek geometric triangle, or an artsy
teardrop-like curve? Switzerland's Bernafon AG offers a red one with a white
cross that might coordinate with your Swiss Army knife. And it's not just
about looks: Computer technology is improving the sound quality of hearing
aids, as well as the ability to customize the devices. Devices can be
programmed to tune out sounds like high-pitched clanking of silverware and
the dull hum of voices at a noisy restaurant. Some devices let users hear
their Bluetooth cellphones through a hearing aid. And many newer hearing
aids are so tiny as to be hardly noticeable.
Full Story
