Hearing aid classification guide for hearing aids

Hearing aids are a very important aid for people with hearing impairments. There are many brands of hearing aids on the market today, and there are many different types of people. Many people know about the hearing aids staying in the name. What we have to do today is to take a deeper understanding of the hearing aids and hope that our introduction will be useful to everyone.

Classification of hearing aids

According to the way of hearing aid conduction, the hearing aid device can be divided into a gas guiding aid, a bone conduction hearing aid and a tactile hearing aid.

1. Air-guided hearing aids are all kinds of hearing aids that are currently used and transmitted through the air to transmit sound to the inner ear.

2. The bone conduction hearing aid is a hearing aid that transmits sound to the inner ear through the conduction of bone (mammary, teeth, hearing bone, etc.). Bone conduction hearing aids are mainly used for severe conductive hearing impairment, as well as inflammation of the external auditory canal, active period of suppurative otitis media, atresia of both ears, and deafness in which the air conduction hearing aid cannot be used. Such hearing aids can be used in glasses, hairpins or implants to allow the receiver to be in close contact with the mastoid or ossicular. In general, bone conduction hearing aids are not widely used.

3, tactile hearing aids, also known as vibrating hearing aids, similar to box-type hearing aids. It replaces the earphone with a vibrator, and when used, the vibrator is worn on the wrist like a watch, and the sound is sensed by the perception of the vibration change by the touch. Such hearing aids are used for particularly severe deafness. Since the vibrator requires a strong power amplification, and the effect of the tactile sensing language signal is not good, it is generally not promoted.

Classified according to their technical principles

The hearing aids are classified into technical hearing aids, electrical hearing aids, semiconductor hearing aids, integrated circuits and programmable hearing aids. If the hearing aids are classified by the degree of digital electronic technology, the hearing aids before the integrated circuit hearing aids use analog electronic components. Starting from the programmable hearing aids, the digital electronic chip enters the hearing aid and controls the operation of other analog components. Digital-to-analog hybrid circuit.

After measuring the static frequency response of the hearing aid with various devices, people pay more attention to its dynamic characteristics, because the sound that people touch every day is the signal whose intensity and frequency are dynamically changing, according to its dynamic frequency response characteristics. Hearing aids can be divided into two categories:

(1) FFR (fixed frequency response) hearing aid. Most of the hearing aids on the market today are such hearing aids, and the frequency response characteristics are determined at the time of shipment from the factory. The tone knob on the hearing aid can only change its frequency response characteristics to some extent. After setting the type parameters of the hearing aid, the frequency response of the hearing aid is fixed regardless of the environment in which the user is placed.

(2) LDFR (level dependent frequency response) hearing aid. Hearing aids with K-Amp circuits are typical of the TILL type, while wide dynamic range compression circuits in most programmable hearing aids are of the LDFR type in a more accurate sense.

Digital Hearing Aids: For patients with high hearing recovery requirements, digital hearing aids are available. The hearing aids are characterized as follows:

(1) further increases the flexibility of the compression characteristic control, and adjusts the inflection point and compression ratio of the hearing aid compression;

(2) The hearing aid gain and frequency response can be automatically processed, and the gain and compression characteristics of different frequency bands can be set according to the hearing loss characteristics of the hearing impaired.

(3) Non-linear automatic control of the gain from sounds in different directions can be achieved to achieve minimum noise;

(4) The gain can be effectively increased by digital acoustic feedback control;

(5) The same processing of the sound compared to the simulated hearing aid reduces the energy consumption of the battery;

(6) Digital dual microphone automatic correction function for intelligent control of sound gain from different directions;

(7) The low-voltage prompt function of the digital hearing aid makes it easier to replace the battery, and the anti-electromagnetic interference function makes the dialing of the mobile phone clearer.

Programmable Hearing Aids: Programmable hearing aids are controlled by BLA in 1988 in accordance with computer-programmable means of hearing aid parameters. It has many advantages that adjustable hearing aids do not have:

(1) Multi-channel processing The digital chip divides the frequency range into multiple channels to determine its gain, compression threshold, and compression ratio, respectively, and the range of the channel can be freely segmented, which is especially suitable for patients with non-flat hearing loss.

(2) More fine adjustments The digital chip can control up to a dozen hearing aid parameters. A programmable hearing aid can be adapted to hearing impaired people of different levels and different types of hearing curves.

(3) The compression ratio is adjustable. The conventional compression-amplified hearing aid has a fixed compression ratio determined at the factory, which does not necessarily match the specific loudness increase of each hearing impaired person. The digital chip makes the compression ratio adjustable.

(4) Selection of multiple sets of programs These settings ensure the use in a variety of acoustic parameters. When hearing aid users are in a quiet office and noisy market, with a few specific programs and a switch that can be switched at any time, you can freely choose the best listening experience.

(5) Wide applicability Programmable hearing aids are widely suitable for a variety of hearing loss curve types and different properties, such as flat, ramp, conductivity, sensorineural or mixed deafness.

Hearing aid selection guide

First of all, it should be different from person to person, correct choice of hearing aid

The fitter selects the line and power of the hearing aid according to the type and degree of hearing loss and the actual needs of the patient, so that the electroacoustic characteristics of the selected hearing aid can meet the hearing loss requirement of the patient and achieve better hearing compensation. This is the choice of hearing aid. The key factor. The basis of this link is to have an accurate evaluation of hearing. In order to get a correct diagnosis, we should go to the otolaryngology head and neck surgery in a regular hospital to check the cause, type and extent of hearing loss, and consult a professional audiologist in a formal institution. The audiologist will select the hearing aid according to the actual needs of the patient. For example, for older hearing loss patients, in addition to meeting current hearing needs in hearing aid selection, consideration should be given to the possibility of further decline in hearing with increasing age, so consideration should be given to the power selection of hearing aids. A certain amount of margin. For patients with hearing fluctuations caused by certain lesions, it is more important to leave room for the power of the hearing aid because of the possibility of hearing deterioration. The patient chooses the appearance of the hearing aid, the extended function, etc.: From the appearance, it depends on whether the size of the hearing aid, the shape and color of the outer casing, the degree of concealment when wearing, etc. meet the individual needs. Usually, for children, because the auricle and external auditory canal are still in the process of development, a back-type hearing aid can be selected. When the whistle is generated due to ear development, the ear mold can be replaced. More subtle types of hearing aids, such as ear canal or deep ear canal hearing aids, can be considered when their ear development is substantially mature. In terms of personal operational ability, people who are not very flexible and who have poor eyesight should consider the difficulty of adjusting the hearing aid and adjusting the small buttons, and choose the type of hearing aid that is easier to operate. From the characteristics of the individual ear canal, people with too narrow ear canal are generally not suitable for the choice of in-ear hearing aids. If you need a larger vent, for a more comfortable fit, you can choose a behind-the-ear hearing aid and add a vent to the ear mold.

Step by step, correct use of hearing aids

The use of the hearing aid has a certain adaptation time, that is, after the sound is processed by the hearing aid, the original sound will have a certain change, and the patient needs a certain time to adapt to the new sound. For the hearing loss of the first choice hearing aid, this is More obvious. As for the length of adaptation time, this is often related to a variety of factors, such as age, physical condition, degree of hearing loss and time.

When the hearing aids are selected, don't go to noisy places, such as supermarkets or airports, in the first few weeks. In addition, the time to wear a hearing aid should be slowly increased. In the first few days, the hearing aid should not be worn for more than one to three hours. When you feel nervous or tired, you should take the hearing aid off, rest for a few hours, gradually extend the wearing time, and finally make the hearing aid a friend. During the adaptation period, it is very important to let yourself adjust to the sound of the surrounding environment step by step. For patients with severe hearing loss, relying on hearing aids often has certain communication difficulties. In this case, you should also learn some listening skills, and if necessary, pay attention to the population.

Pay attention to the method, correct maintenance of hearing aids

Care should be taken to maintain the hearing aid: 1. Keep the hearing aid dry. Avoid moisture, heat, and water. Remove the hearing aids when washing your face, washing your hair, swimming, and spraying hair. When it rains, you should take care to protect from rain. In wet seasons and areas, as well as those who love sweating, pay special attention to keep dry and stick to desiccant. 2, to avoid falling, collision or shock. These factors can cause the hearing aid housing to rupture and internal parts to break. 3. Use the hearing aid battery correctly. Hearing aids must use a dedicated battery. If the battery is dead, it should be replaced in time. If the battery is low, it will affect the acoustics of the hearing aid. When the hearing aid is not used for a long time, the battery should be taken out to avoid damage to the hearing aid caused by battery leakage. 4. Keep the hearing aid clean. When the hearing aid still has no sound or the sound is significantly reduced after replacing the new battery, it should be considered whether the sound hole of the hearing aid is blocked by the ear. You can use the hooks or small brushes in the hearing aid maintenance kit to remove the sputum, but avoid getting too deep or going to the otology clinic. In particular, in-the-ear hearing aids, which are too deep to damage the hearing aid receiver.

According to different classification criteria, the types of hearing aids are also divided into many. I don't know what you think about the above classification. The role of hearing aids for hearing impaired people, I believe we do not have to say that everyone knows. Therefore, when purchasing, be careful, don't be greedy and cheap.