Things have changed since your great, great granddad held an ear trumpet up to his ear. Modern hearing aids are capable of so much more than they could do even a decade ago. The development of hearing aid tech permits users to do activities that were impossible at one point. Just think about these seven things hearing aids are currently able to do.
1. Stay Put Even When You are Moving
Once upon a time, it would have been unheard of to ride a bike or jog with your hearing aids in place. When you are moving around, hearing aids can fall out even high quality ones. Nowadays whether you are an athlete or novice you can exercise while wearing your hearing aids.
The evolution here is not in the technology, however. Hearing aids that fall out can still become damaged or lost. Innovation wins out with a straightforward approach: hearing aid retention cords. It’s sort of like having your hearing aids on a lanyard. They clip to your clothes and slide on to the hearing aid as a safety measure. Kids will also benefit from hearing aid retention cords.
2. Resist Water
Most hearing aids don’t do well when fully submerged despite the fact that they are water resistant. Waterproof hearing aids and a few accessories will be necessary if you want to swim with your hearing aid.
Begin with a raincoat for your hearing aids. Waterproof Sleeves fit securely over the devices to protect them from water damage while still letting you hear. Many of the sleeves have cords that connect to your clothing too, so you don’t lose the hearing aids while enjoying some summer activities.
A dehumidifier is an additional piece of equipment you may want to invest in. It doesn’t matter how careful you are, some amount of water will get into the case. The unit gets dried out by the dehumidifier without causing damage to the fragile components.
3. Pair With Your Smartphone
Now when your phone rings you don’t need to remove your hearing aids. However, some brands don’t have this feature. Wireless streaming capability and Bluetooth enabling are capabilities you will want to think about when buying new hearing aids. This technology allows them to pair with your phone just like Bluetooth earbuds or headphones do.
Interested in streaming a movie? This is another situation where wireless features are useful. With Bluetooth or wireless, the hearing aids can receive sound from your TV or MP3 player.
Also, for cell phones or landlines, these hearing aids have a phone function. Telephone adaptation uses a telecoil to receive signals from the phones so you can hear them in your hearing aids.
4. Learn
That’s correct, machine learning features are available in many models. Certain devices will make volume adjustments depending on the setting by remembering your preference and you don’t have to do anything.
They can also come with multiple programs so you can store a specific setup in the memory and press a button to recall it when the time is right.
5. Make the Ringing Stop
For lots of 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 covers up the ringing, so you hear sounds better. The ringing will subside after the masking sound cancels the tinnitus. Not all brands have this tinnitus masking tech. If you are investing in hearing aids, and require this function, you will need to ask for it.
6. Store Data
A compelling new feature in hearing aids is data logging. Volume changes, when you use the hearing aid, and background noises you come across are examples of things that are logged by these devices.
The benefit is your audiologist or hearing aid retailer can pull up this data to make essential adjustments to the devices to improve their sound or give you information to go on when purchasing new hearing aids.
7. Go Remote
You can quickly adjust the volume, change the program, or use your hearing aid as a Bluetooth streaming device if you have a remote.
Not all of these features are new, but they all let you do things with your hearing aids that weren’t possible years ago. Hearing aid tech is always progressing, too. If you go shopping for new hearing aids, make certain to check out the latest and greatest features. To see them all, schedule an appointment with a hearing professional today.