How Hearing Aids Work

Hearing aids are electronic devices that pick up and amplify sound. By amplifying sound, sounds that the wearer normally would not hear are increased in volume and therefore better communicated.

There are many different degrees of hearing loss and technology has paved the way for many innovative products designed to improve a broad range of hearing.
Hearing Aid Components:

• One or many microphones. The microphone gathers sound and converts it to electrical impulses. More than one microphone collects sound from different areas.
• An amplifier is used to increase the strength of the impulses.
• The receiver transforms the electrical impulses back into sound waves and redirects them into the ear of the wearer.
• A battery is needed to supply the energy source.

Other Components:

• A computer chip is found in programmable hearing aids.
• There are switches on the aid that turn the device on or off, allow for phone usage or provide the ability to control volume.
• Programs offer various sounds for a variety of listening environments. As an example, one program may be for conversations, another for the telephone and a third for noisy situations. An aid can come with numerous programs and the wearer may manually change back and forth between different programs, while some aids switch automatically.