home Folk remedies The hearing aid beeps. Background noise when using a hearing aid. Microphone effect is an acoustic feedback effect. What is the difference between a digital device and an analog one?

The hearing aid beeps. Background noise when using a hearing aid. Microphone effect is an acoustic feedback effect. What is the difference between a digital device and an analog one?

WHAT ARE THERE ARE HEARING AIDS?

All hearing aids can be divided according to the following characteristics:

by appearance:

BTE type (located behind the ear) - miniature, designed for hearing loss from minimal to severe,
and regular size, suitable for any hearing loss,
intra-ear (located partly in the external auditory canal, partly in the auricle), compensate for hearing loss from slight to severe (up to 80 dB);
intra-channel or so-called deep-immersion devices, almost invisible (located entirely in the external auditory canal) are designed for mild to moderate hearing loss - (up to 60-70 dB);

by setting method:

TRIMMER - settings are adjusted using a screwdriver,
PROGRAMMABLE - information about the settings is entered into the hearing aid using a special programmer via a computer;

according to the method of sound processing -

ANALOGUE (regular),
DIGITAL

Both analog hearing aids and those with digital sound processing can be trimmed and programmable, i.e. Settings can be entered into the device manually or using a programmer via a computer.

in terms of power - the hearing aid must accurately match the degree of hearing loss and never exceed the required gain. All devices are divided into:

LOW POWER - designed for hearing loss from minor to moderate, which corresponds to 1-2 degrees (up to 60-70 dB),
MEDIUM POWER - designed for the degree of hearing loss from moderate to severe (degree 2-3 - from 4 0 to 8 0 dB),
POWERFUL - designed mainly for severe hearing loss (degree 3-4 - from 60 to 95 dB),
SUPER POWERFUL - HEARING AIDS designed to compensate for severe and profound hearing loss (grade 4 - deafness with residual hearing - from 70 to 110 dB).

according to audio processing capabilities

so-called devices BASIC LEVEL PROSTHETICS. These include digital and analog hearing aids that have one or two independent tuning channels, LINEAR or NON-LINEAR Amplification, but with a limited number of tuning parameters and manual volume control. If the patient has satisfactory SPEECH INTEGRITY, these devices provide a fairly comfortable perception of surrounding sounds in silence.
COMFORTABLE LEVEL PROSTHETICS devices are hearing aids with digital sound processing, nonlinear amplification, independent adjustment of the low- and high-frequency range and automatic volume control. They provide more comfortable listening to surrounding sounds in silence due to a sufficient number of settings, the presence of a microphone self-noise suppression system, extended dynamic range and very low nonlinear distortion.
HIGH LEVEL PROSTHETIC devices - this group includes digital hearing aids that have high adjustment flexibility due to the presence of 3 or more independent channels, special digital algorithms for automatic adjustment in different acoustic situations, with suppression of ambient noise in order to improve speech intelligibility.

A hearing aid amplifies ambient sounds and transmits them to the internal structures of the ear.

Hearing aid whistles(a high-frequency whistle appears) when the amplified Sound enters the microphone of the Hearing Aid, i.e. when the sounds start be forced out. The main task is sealing ear canal and preventing amplified Sound from escaping outside.

When you turn on the Hearing Aid (even before installing it in the ear), a whistle occurs, which indicates that the device is working. After you put the device on your ear, whistling occurs only in cases where the earmold is incorrectly selected or is not tightly inserted into the ear canal.

There may be several reasons leading to this situation:

1. Excessive wax in the ear canal.

Which leads to disruption of the normal passage of amplified Sound.

Ears need to be cleaned periodically.

2. Turn on the Hearing Aid at full volume.

Turn down the volume of your Hearing Aid or contact a Professional for advice on whether you need to purchase a more powerful hearing aid.

3. Changing body position.

4. Inadequate standard or custom earmold.

Contact the Hearing Center for a quality custom earmold.

A large loss of hearing or a large gain in the hearing aid requires precise selection of an earmold.

5. Worn plastic straw, which connects the BTE hearing aid to the earmold.

She pulls out the hearing aid earmold until it no longer fits snugly in the ear.

Periodic replacement of the tube is necessary.

In modern expensive models of Hearing Aids, the problem of feedback (whistle) has been successfully solved.

A special feedback suppression function allows you to perform any action without worrying about the appearance of disturbing Sound.

The “whistle” or “squeak” of hearing aids is a manifestation of the feedback effect. It appears due to the amplification of a sound that has already been amplified before. A fairly common phenomenon that can bring discomfort not only to the user of hearing aids, but also to others, attracting their, often inappropriate, attention. Sometimes the feedback effect can be so strong that it becomes impossible to use the device. Modern manufacturers have done a lot to “teach” hearing aids to suppress “whistle.” And we have achieved significant success in this. However, the problem still exists, especially in patients with severe hearing impairment. There are several reasons for this.

The first and most common

An earmold that does not fit tightly to the ear canal and the auricle. Most often, this is caused by universal earbuds that do not take into account the structural features of the ear. An individual liner that is correctly made from an impression does not have this drawback. Want to avoid "whistle"? Give preference to a custom liner.

In children, the appearance of a feedback effect may indicate that the child has “grown” out of the insert. This is especially noticeable in the first year of life, when the liners have to be remade every 2-3 months.

For in-canal devices, there is also a problem if the housing does not fit tightly to the walls of the external auditory canal.

The second reason

A crack in the tube connecting the earmold and the BTE. It simply needs to be replaced or re-glued in the otoplastic laboratory.

Third reason

Suboptimal fitting of hearing aids. Many models have powerful feedback suppression algorithms that can be activated by a tuner.

The fourth reason is perhaps the rarest

Failure of a hearing aid when sound “leakage” occurs in the housing itself.

If you encounter a feedback problem, contact your medical center. Whatever the reason, our center’s specialists will help you find and eliminate it.

The main reason for hearing aid squeaking is The device does not fit tightly to the ear. Typically, the problem is with the earmold used in the hearing aid. The insert may not fit well with the rest of the device, or simply be of poor quality. In this case, the liner needs to be replaced.

Squeaking is also possible if The device itself is of poor quality. If you purchased a hearing aid at a low price, consider purchasing a higher quality model. Of course, the presence of defects is not excluded in a hearing aid of any model, but the name of a well-known manufacturer better insures against the presence of a malfunction. You can also consult with other people who wear hearing aids: they can often tell you where to buy a good device.

The problem may be in the setup of the device, if it goes wrong or is simply done poorly. To set up the device, you should contact a specialist - an audiologist-adjuster. If your regular audiologist cites any other reasons for the device malfunction and refuses to adjust the device again, we strongly recommend that you find another, more competent specialist. Typically, hearing aid fitting is a complex and lengthy process; An audiologist should not refuse to help you under any circumstances if you claim that you need a hearing aid refit.

The thing is that the distance between the receiver (speaker) and the microphone system is small. And because of the short distance, high-frequency short-wave sound that is received by the microphone and amplified many, many times sometimes gets back into the microphone. This circumstance causes his self-excitation. And the sound gets there due to very small gaps between the earbud and the ear canal. Thus, the higher the volume of the hearing aid, the louder the whistling.
To avoid this problem, make sure the earmold fits snugly in your ear. This is why an individual insert is made.
The problem of whistling is also solved by the program itself when setting up a digital device.

Among the analog programmable hearing aids, there is the Swift Oticon model, which is not expensive, about 7,000 rubles, and produces sound like a top-end digital one. And all because digital has not yet fully approached analog sound. A digital hearing aid mainly provides noise reduction (a lot of technological gadgets), features (connection with a telephone, TV) and, perhaps, everything. Analog gives true clean sound. All from personal experience!

Best Hearing Aids. Premium class. http://www.dobsluh.ru/info/88-2012-04-17-17-26-23/

Why should you wear hearing aids in both ears?

The use of two hearing aids allows a person to restore the ability to determine the direction of sound in space and increases speech intelligibility. In addition, two hearing aids provide additional amplification, which is extremely important for large degrees of hearing impairment, when one hearing aid does not provide the necessary amplification.

Feeling comfortable while wearing your hearing aid is important for both you and the people around you.

However, almost all hearing aids can exhibit signs of feedback. The average person perceives the feedback phenomenon as a whistle.

There are several reasons for the feedback phenomenon to occur:

First reason The whistling of the device is the presence of a large accumulation of sulfur in the ear canal, which interferes with the penetration of sound, and the sound, being reflected, again reaches the microphone of the device. If the device works all the time, then feedback is a continuous process, which we hear in the form of a whistle.

You need to get rid of the wax, and you will feel that the sound has become clearer and the device will stop whistling.

The easiest way to get rid of earwax is to make an appointment with your local otolaryngologist.

The second reason When the device whistles, the earmold does not fit tightly to the walls of the external auditory canal, you may have chosen a smaller earmold.

It is very easy to check this by placing your finger on the earpiece and pressing it more tightly into the ear canal if you feel that the whistling has stopped. then it is better to contact your specialist and make a new individual liner.

Third reason whistling occurs - the hearing aid is damaged.

This is a common reason if the sound guide tube has become rigid and micro-cracks appear on it. In the case of wearing in-ear devices, this could be caused by cracks in the device body itself.

This can only be corrected by a specialist and a branded hearing aid repair center.

Fourth and the most rare condition for feedback to occur is a complex auditory canal. Those. if the sound duct hits the wall or down the passage, it can cause an amplified sound and then, so that the device can return to normal, a whistle begins. You can eliminate all these signs of feedback with your specialist.

I would like to note that the most modern hearing aids in the series Siemens Motion As an example, they come with an automated feedback suppression system. When the device detects a hint of feedback, it automatically adjusts to suppress feedback, which unfortunately cannot be achieved by the simplest hearing aid that does not include these options.

Therefore, if you are tired of whistling (feedback), we are always happy to help you in the modern hearing care center of the Good Hearing company.

All work on the manufacture of earmolds, replacement of sound guides, and manufacture of housings for in-canal hearing aids is carried out by engineers from Siemens and other hearing aid manufacturers.