Noise Reduction In Hearing Aids :: essays research papers

Recently in a local hearing clinic, a clients concerns were discussed. Im afraid I wont like them. My brother in law bought two hearing aids, and he keeps them in a drawer in the kitchen. patch the number of people displease with their hearing aids hovers around 50%, the hearing aid industry is hard pressed to decrease the number of returns, and increase the average daily physical exercise of each aid. In order to accomplish this, hearing aid manufacturers must answer the most often heard complaint It doesnt work hale in noise. Unfortunately, a hearing aid will never be able to accomplish the sifting and sorting that is carried out in the human brain. While a person with normal hearing sits in a restaurant, he can distinguish a conversational speech indication that is as shrimpy as three decibels greater than the ambient noise. On the other hand, a person with a 30-decibel sensorineural loss might need the speech signal to be 15 or more decibels greater than the ambient noise. The hearing aids task is to acoustically or electronically compensate for both the neurological shortcomings of the hearing impaired person and the wide band increase inherent in any basic amplifier. Acoustic compensation can be carried out in a hearing aid microphone. Most hearing aids today utilize omnidirectional microphones, which pick up sound evenly from all directions. This may be beneficial and practical in some cases, as in the completely in the canal (CIC) aid. The CIC aid uses the natural funneling of the atrial auricle in order to focus sound directly into the instrument. Behind-the-ear (BTE) and full concha in-the-ear (ITE) aids lose this anatomical feature, and may benefit from a directional microphone. The purpose of use a directional microphone is to focus its sensitivity toward the front of the listener, thereby attenuating or reducing unwanted noise or competition emanating from behind the listener. (Stach 1998) microphone directionality can be accomplished by using a single microphone with two sound inlets. In this mechanical method, the time jug created by a sound entering each inlet is precisely calibrated to cancel out sounds from the sides and back of the microphone as they strike the diaphragm. The Phonak MicroZoom&61668 uses an electronic approach. Each MicroZoom&61668 contains two omnidirectional microphones. According to the flyer, One picks up sound in front of you while a second picks up sound from the sides and rear.