Things have changed since your great, great granddad held an ear trumpet up to his ear. Modern hearing aids are able to do so much more than these devices could do even 10 years ago. Activities that were not possible a few years ago are now possible due to developments in hearing aid tech. Hearing aids can now do the following things.
1. Prevent Accidental Damage While Exercising
Jogging or riding a bike with a hearing aid in would have been risky in the past. Even top quality hearing aids are subject to damage if they fall out while you are on the move. Now it’s possible to wear your hearing aids when you’re exercising whether you are a novice or an athlete.
However, the change is not only in the technology. You can still break or lose your hearing aids if they fall out. Innovation wins out with a simple concept: hearing aid retention cords. It’s sort of like putting your hearing aids on a lanyard. They clip to your clothes and slide on to the hearing aid as a security measure. Kids will also benefit from hearing aid retention cords.
2. Resist Water
While it is true many hearing aids are water resistant, they still won’t do well when completely submersed. Instead, if you want to go swimming you’ll need to get waterproof hearing aids and consider a few accessories.
Raincoats are available for your hearing aids. Your device is protected by waterproof sleeves that fit snugly over them while still allowing you to hear. Many of the sleeves come with cords that connect to your clothing too, so you won’t lose the hearing aids while enjoying some summer activities.
Another thing you might want to get is a dehumidifier for your hearing aids. It doesn’t matter how careful you are, some water will get into the case. The dehumidifier dries the units out without damaging their fragile electronic parts.
3. Pair With Your Smartphone
Now when your phone rings you won’t have to take your hearing aids out. Not all hearing aid brands do this, though. You want to invest in hearing aids that are Bluetooth-enabled or have the wireless streaming capability. The same way that earbuds or headphones use Bluetooth to connect to your phone, these kinds of hearing aids also do that.
Want to stream a movie? Wireless comes in handy in this situation, too. With Bluetooth or wireless, the hearing aids can pick up sound from your TV or MP3 player.
Also, for cell phones or landlines, these hearing aids have a phone function. Signals from your phone can be heard in your hearing aid thanks to a telecoil.
4. Learn
That’s correct, hearing aids have machine learning capabilities. Some devices will make volume adjustments depending on the setting by remembering your preference and you don’t need to do anything.
They can also come with multiple programs so you can store a specific setup in the memory and push a button to load it when you need it.
5. Make the Ringing Stop
For many people tinnitus and hearing loss go hand in hand. Hearing aids which include tinnitus maskers or sound generators will play a low-level sound in the background that masks the ringing, so you hear sounds clearer. The masking sound cancels out the tinnitus, and that ringing goes away. Tinnitus masking is a particular feature, though, and not available from all brands. If you are investing in hearing aids, and need this function, you will need to ask for it.
6. Store Data
Data logging is one of the more recent functions in hearing aid technology but a powerful one. Volume adjustments, when you use the hearing aid, and background noises you encounter are examples of things that are logged by these devices.
The advantage is your audiologist or hearing aid retailer can use this data to make essential modifications to the devices to improve their sound or give you insight to go on when purchasing new hearing aids.
7. Go Remote
Hearing aids that come with remotes allow you to quickly change programs, adjust the volume or even act as a Bluetooth streaming device.
All of these features enable you to do things that were impossible years ago despite the fact that they aren’t all brand new. Hearing aid tech is constantly progressing, too. Be sure to check out the latest features when you’re buying a new hearing aid. Make an appointment with a hearing care specialist to see them all.