Digital Noise Reduction Technology Brings Additional Features on Many Hearing Aids

Whether its a crowded sidewalk or restaurant, you can confront overpowering amounts of noise almost anyplace. For the hearing aid users, the problem of background noise can be immense. It’s a big challenge to differentiate one sound from the background noise. Digital noise reduction technology embedded inside hearing aids is one approach to combating this problem. It allows the wearer to block unwanted noise and focus on specific sounds.

Conversational speech and meaningless noise follow different sound patterns, which digital noise reduction technology is able to pick up on. This is easy to do when speaking to someone in a quiet room as the speech signals are the only sound around. However, when conversing in a noisy environment, your digital noise reduction equipped hearing aid can tell that there is unwanted sound present. The hearing aid makes the necessary adjustments on its own using built-in software and reduces the volume associated with the noisy channels.

Don’t expect that all background noise will be eliminated. No hearing aid can do that. However, the digital noise reduction feature does help improve communications quite a lot in noisy areas. Compared to hearing aids that don’t have noise reduction technology embedded, user report better speech sounds and improved comprehension.

Users are most pleased with their results when the device is used to counteract a constant background noise. Steady, unchanging sounds such as a car engine or an air conditioner are effectively blocked, but more dynamic noises such as loud music or conversation cannot be overcome as effectively.

To give your digital noise reduction capable hearing aid the best chance at succeeding, use common sense measures in conjunction with technology. If dining in a crowded restaurant, for example, consider asking to be seated in a quieter part of the room or request that the music playing overhead be turned down.

Digital noise reduction technology isn’t a fix for all background noise problems, but every little bit helps and the technology continues to improve every year.