Everything You Need To Know About Hearing Aids

Visit us at Hidden Hearing and try our range of excellent digital hearing aids including invisible hearing aids. Our national network includes over eighty branches and clinics, so we’re sure to have a location near you. Simply call us or pop in to make an appointment and let us help you to find the best hearing solution for you and your lifestyle.

What is a Hearing Aid?

A hearing aid is a complex and intelligent communication device, which is designed to help you to distinguish sounds across every frequency and to participate fully in the world around you.

There are many different types of hearing aids, as there are many different types of hearing loss,   but all work to amplify sounds within a particular hearing range, making sounds louder and clearer. No hearing aid can restore perfect hearing, but the way in which they work can help you to hear many different sounds more clearly and even to detect sounds you may not have heard for many years.

At Hidden Hearing we have a wide range of excellent digital hearing aids. Our national network includes over eight branches and clinics, so we’re sure to have a location near you. Simply call us or pop in to make an appointment and let us help you to find the best hearing solution for you and your lifestyle.

How Hearing Aids Work?

A hearing aid has three basic parts: a microphone, an amplifier and a speaker.

1. Sound enters the hearing aid through a microphone.
A microphone, set within the small hearing aid that you wear in your ear, picks up sounds around you.

2. Sound is processed and amplified.
Sounds are then analysed via the processing chip in the hearing aid, and processed sounds are sent to the amplifier.

3. Sound is delivered to a receiver.
Amplified sounds are sent to the loudspeaker inside the hearing aid device, which then transmits sounds into the inner ear where they are transformed into electrical impulses.

The brain receives these electrical impulses and processes them to create audible sounds.

Hearing aids are designed to work with the specific hearing loss problems you are suffering, so they will vary in design and you will work with a hearing loss professional to find the best hearing aid for you.

Hearing Aid Technology

Oticon hearing instruments with BrainHearing™ technology are designed for your brain, supporting the hard work it does. BrainHearing™ helps you hear better, with less effort so you can participate more actively in life.

There are two types of sound processing technology that may be used in hearing aids: analogue and digital technology. In all hearing aids, sounds are detected by a microphone, processed and amplified, and delivered to a loudspeaker or receiver.

Amplified sound output is sent directly to your ear canal, either through tubing to an ear mould and then into the ear canal, or through a thin wire to a receiver, which is worn inside the ear.

Types of Hearing Aids

Conventionally, hearing instruments sit behind the ear. However, there are now small hearing aids and even invisible hearing aids that sit so well concealed in the ear canal that no one can see them.

Behind the Ear Hearing Aids

Behind-the-Ear (BTE) hearing aids are the most common on the market today. They hide behind the Auricle (the visible part of your ear) and have a thin clear tube that runs into the ear canal. BTEs are designed so people do not notice them but remain extremely effective at treating hearing loss.

It transmits sound through a thin tube that runs from the top-front of the ear and into your ear canal. Behind-the-ear hearing aids are suitable for most types of hearing loss.

In the Ear Hearing Aids

Hidden Inside Your Ear
In The Ear (ITE) models are a good choice if discretion is a high priority for you. They help to give first-time users an easy introduction to hearing aids because they sit safely out of the way of sunglasses and goggles – and won’t fly off when you remove your sweater. 

Read more about the difference types of hearing aids

Analogue Hearing Aids

Sounds are processed as electrical signals by a microphone within an analogue hearing aid device. The sound is registered and you receive an impression, or picture of it. The original sound is copied by the processor, which means that the sound can deteriorate as it is processed and it is only possible to improve sounds to a certain extent.

Digital Hearing Aids

Digital hearing aids convert the acoustic signal into digits and process these, before converting them back into analogue acoustic signals for the listener. A digital signal does not deteriorate or wear out, so can be duplicated endlessly without any negative effect on the quality of the sound.

The newest technology uses wireless communication to process sounds and produce clearer speech and sound quality, while also allowing you to listen more easily and to connect to mobile phones and MP3 players.

What Can Hearing Aid Technology Do For You?

Hidden Hearing will work with you to find the best system to suit you and your lifestyle, but you can be assured that the best hearing aid technology available to you will allow you to:

• Hear speech more clearly, even in noisy surroundings
• Locate the sources of sound so you know where to focus your attention
• Focus on the most important sounds more easily
• Organise sounds you hear and feel more comfortable in your environment

Bluetooth Hearing Aids

You may be familiar with connecting your phone or computer to Bluetooth to make phone calls or listen to music, but did you know that today’s hearing aids can also be fitted with Bluetooth technology? Read on to learn more about Bluetooth hearing aids.
First of all, what is Bluetooth? Bluetooth is a wireless communication platform that allows for the transfer of data between two or more electronic devices. Bluetooth technology transmits data through high frequency radio waves, allowing you to listen to music, watch movies, and talk on the phone “hands-free” – or without needing a cord running from your device to your headphones. Since Bluetooth’s invention in the 1990’s, a large variety of products have incorporated the technology, including computers, tablets, televisions, mobile phones, music players – and, as we’ll discuss in depth in this article, hearing aids .

Next, we’ll provide 5 reasons to try Bluetooth hearing aids:
1. Hear phone conversations more clearly
2. Listen to your favourite TV show at a personalised volume level
3. Listen to music directly through your Bluetooth hearing aids
4. Enjoy hands-free device connection with a range of up to 100 meters (300 feet)
5. Skip the struggle of straining to hear your computer sounds through your computer speaker

Hearing Aid Batteries

When you buy your hearing aids from Hidden Hearing, you automatically receive our Complimentary Lifelong Aftercare Package. Included as part of the package is "free batteries for life."

To find out more about our hearing aid batteries click here 

Frequently Asked Questions About Hearing Aids:

What is the best hearing aid?

There are numerous designs and types, a consultation would be best to determine your individual needs)
Oticon: Hear better, understand more, with less effort. All Oticon devices are designed to help people with hearing loss fulfil their potential and live the life they choose. Oticon's most advanced hearing aids use BrainHearingTM technology, which supports the way the brain naturally makes sense of the sounds all around you.

How much is a hidden hearing aid?

Hearing aids can range from a few hundred Euros to in excess of €2000. The important thing to remember is that hearing aids are prescriptive and there is always a choice not only to meet your own personal needs in communication but also your financial budget. We would always advise a hearing test to firstly determine if your hearing loss can be helped and if so the solutions available are demonstrated without obligation. This allows you to make an informed choice that meets your needs. At Hidden Hearing you will also be covered with an extensive rehabilitation programme and an aftercare plan for life inclusive of a 4 year warranty cover and free batteries for life.

How do I choose a hearing aid?

We recommend that you book a visit with your nearest Hidden Hearing Clinic and avail of a consultation with your local hearing care expert. At this consultation you can have your hearing assessed along with a discussion about what matters to you. Your Hearing Care Professional can then co-ordinate an instrument that best suits your hearing loss and lifestyle. They can help you compare the available hearing aid styles and discuss the following considerations when choosing a hearing aid.
1. Your level of hearing loss
2. Comfort
3. Price and quality
4. Style
5. Your level of social engagement
6. Hearing aid technology