The Technology of Hearing Solutions
The Right Choice in hearing aid technology should be determined by your individual hearing loss and the anatomical features of your ear. Hearingcare professionals and medical practitioners can advise you on the various possibilities available. The following explanations may be useful to you.
Every hearing instrument has one or more microphones which pick up sound from the environment. This acoustic signal is transformed to an electrical signal; it is amplified and adapted according to the individual hearing loss. The receiver (or "loudspeaker") then reconverts it to an acoustic signal which is directed down the ear canal.
Digital Technology
Thanks to increasingly small micro-processors, digital technology has been applied to hearing systems. Digital hearing instruments are programmed by a hearingcare professional via a PC. Within the hearing instruments, acoustic signals are transformed at high speed and with great precision into a binary code.This allows much more complex calculations and adjustment of the amplified signal than is possible with analog technology. It gives greater flexibility in providing individualized solutions to hearing loss, and allows the addition of features which give the instruments higher value across a greater number of listening situations.
Programmable Digital Technology
This technology is a combination of analog signal processing and digital programming of the hearing system via a PC. It can be used in various combinations to meet individual needs.
Analog Technology
Hearing instruments with analog signal processing are not programmed via a PC but are adjusted manually by a hearingcare professional using a fine screwdriver. Individualized settings are only possible to a certain degree since innovations such as multi-microphones, the suppression of background noise and convenient remote control operation cannot be integrated into the solution.
(adapted from http://www.phonak.com/consumer/hearing/hearingsolutions.htm)