Cogent Communications

Hearing aids are of two basic types: analogue and digital. Though in the new age, digital hearing aids are much preferred and more prevalent than their analogue counterparts, there are still some old school staunch followers who swear by the code of the analogue hearing aid. Digital hearing aids have been proven as more efficient, more compact and better at removing outside noise than the analogue hearing aids. They have a tendency to filter out the excessive outside noise and amplify the voice waves, which makes them an ideal choice for deaf people who have to travel or commute constantly among crowded places.

Analogue hearing aids, the remnants of a rather dominating past, are still widely used by a section of the population. These analogue hearing aids convert the analogue sound waves to electrical signals and amplify them, so that they can be better perceived by the user of the hearing aids. However, the amplification process changes from person to person; due to the variation in the bands of sound each individual may be hard of hearing. A good audiologist can take care of this problem easily and efficiently by programming the hearing aid using a computer so as to prepare the hearing aid for use in various scenarios, ranging from crowded pubs to theatres and huge stadiums. Analogue hearing aids are also way less expensive than digital hearing aids.

There are four basic components in analogue hearing aids: the microphone, the battery, the circuit and the receiver. The incoming sound from the surroundings is generally received by the microphone and the sound waves are converted into electrical signals or impulses. These sound waves have to be manipulated perfectly because the different people will have different requirements overall. The circuit takes care of the amplification of the signal, and this circuit is generally designed by the audiologist so as to make sure that the right bands of sound are amplified for the user’s benefit. Now that the impulses have been amplified, they are taken to the receiver, where the amplified impulses are once again converted into sound waves and projected inside the ear. The battery powers the entire process and makes sure that the lifetime of the hearing aids is long.  Hearing aids circuits are of three types: adjustable analogue, programmable analogue and programmable digital. In the case of the adjustable analogue circuit, the audiologist decides the settings of the circuit and makes sure that the right frequencies are boosted. The hearing aids are then made more efficient by frequent testing; hence this requires the user’s collaboration too. The programmable hearing aid, is however, programmed by the audiologist using a computer so as to prepare the circuit for use in external settings and to eliminate external sources of noise. This is the working of the analogue hearing aid.

Of course there are now new digital hearing aids available from Bernafon. The Bernafon hearing aids consist of the latest cutting edge technology that enable you to the best hearing.