In the days of yore, hearing aids were expensive, bulky, and highly ineffective. Today’s modern devices are more discreet, affordable, and capable of reproducing the tiniest subtleties of natural sound. Contrary to popular belief, these newer hearing aids are not only fueled from technological advancements. This shift has been the result of better research and the implementation of brain hearing technology. Continue reading to learn how brain hearing technology has transformed the industry.
What is Brain Hearing Technology?
Brain hearing technology considers the entire hearing process instead of older hearing aids that amplify all sounds and push the mass of noise directly through to your brain. The result of traditional hearing aids has been poor sound quality that fatigues and overwhelms the brain. Brain hearing technology starts with the simple notion that sound actually occurs in your brain and not in your ears. Through research in brain hearing technology, researchers have discovered that the processing of sound within your brain is just as important as the amplification of sound in your ears.
How Does Brain Hearing Technology Help?
While your ears are the receptors of sound, your brain is responsible for organizing various the sounds into intelligible information. Your brain separates out unwanted noise from important facts from a conversation. Brain hearing technology is designed to assist with this by:
- Preserving the vital details of speech,
- Reducing the effort in listening,
- Helping you easily locate sound,
- Implementing all of your personal listening preferences into this process.
In any case, your brain and ears work together simultaneously to orient, recognize, focus, and separate sounds around you. The four events are happening continuously and simultaneously.
Unlike traditional hearing aids, brain hearing technology has increased the intuitive nature of these devices. Brain hearing aids are designed to provide your brain with natural sounds, which will potentially help reduce these common cognitive issues associated with hearing loss at old age.
How Do Brain-Focused Hearing Aids Work?
Brain hearing technology has led to significant improvements in overall hearing aid performance. Today’s hearing aids are not only designed to amplify the sounds your inner ear cannot hear well, but they can also preserve the natural quality of sound. By doing so, your brain isn’t overwhelmed or fatigued with unnecessary amplification. Simply put, brain-focused hearing aids are capable of preserving clear and natural signals loaded with details. These state-of-the-art hearing aids work with the four main functions your brain uses to make sense of sound:
- Speech Recognition: Brain hearing technology preserves the natural characteristics of speech, which makes it easier to switch between speakers and to focus on conversations.
- Spatial Recognition: Brain hearing technology allows you to accurately locate sounds by preserving the difference in sound between your two ears.
- Sound Filtering: Brain hearing technology preserves the ability to separate and identify pertinent information from background noise.
- Sound Focusing: Brain hearing technology allows you to be able to focus on relevant speech and sounds, even in areas with abrupt changes in background noise.
Benefits of Brain Hearing Technology
Experts have known for several years about the benefit of effectively addressing hearing loss. Since brain hearing technology is a relatively new, it looks to improve your ability to hear in all settings. With brain hearing technology, you will see an improvement in your home and work relationships, ability to communicate in all situations, and an improvement in your social life. However, some of the most recent research has created a significant link between between cognitive issues and hearing loss. A study by researchers at the National Institute on Aging and Johns Hopkins University found seniors with hearing loss are significantly more likely to develop dementia than those with normal hearing. Another study by Johns Hopkins University discovered older adults are with hearing loss are also more likely to have problems remembering and thinking in comparison to older adults with normal hearing.
How to Benefit from Brain Hearing Technology?
While hearing aids have always required professional programming and have never been out-of-the-box products, enjoying new brain hearing technology is much easier than you would expect. The first step is to schedule a hearing exam, where your audiologist will measure your level of hearing loss. This information will be vital in the customization of your brain hearing aid. After your hearing aid has been customized, you will be able to enjoy all of the sweet sounds of life without worrying about hearing loss.
Contact North Shore Hearing today to schedule a consultation.
