Four things that matter in a hearing aid

Buying a hearing aid can be confusing. There are hundreds of different brands of hearing aids and there is all sorts of technology. Additionally prices range from a few hundred dollars for a cheap hearing aid to $4000 for a top of the line. But, if everything is stripped down what are the things that really matter when selected a hearing aid? Below are the 4 things that matter most when selected a hearing aid.

Directional Microphones
Directional microphones mean that the hearing aid receives sound from 2 separate microphone. One microphone is an omni-directional which means that picks up sound from the front and rear. The other is a directional microphone which means that it only picks up sound from the front. This is very important when someone is standing in front of you and you want to filter out the sound that are behind you. Directional microphones are the most important factor is understanding speech in noise.

Multi-channel/multi-bands
Channels and bands are the means the hearing aid uses to break sounds into chucks for processing. For example, you can buy a “hearing aid” from a late night commercial for $19.99 that is one channel/ one band. The problem with this is most people can hear some frequencies well or at least better than other frequencies. People that have bought these hearing devices get over amplified on the voices they don't need and under amplified on the sound they do need. Not only is this annoying, it can damage your hearing. Its important to have at 6 channels or bands on adjustment or more.

Listening Programs
Listening programs are different settings of the hearing aid for different situations. Hearing aids are often set so that one program is optimized for speech in noise, one program for music, one program for the telephone, etc... The advantage of these programs is obvious. If you wear hearing aids, you will be in many different situations and you will need a hearing aid that adjust.

User Programmable
Finally, the most exciting piece of technology over the past few years has been user programmable hearing aids. There are a few high quality hearing aids available now that are user adjustable. All you need is the software and hardware to make the adjustments. This is a huge step for hearing aids allowing users to make precise adjustments to the hearing aids whenever needed. No more going to the audiologist and hoping that the audiologist can tune the aids to your needs.

Openfit.com sells new high quality digital hearing aids that are user programmable. Their hearing aids have all of the technology that is crucial and the hearing aids are programmable on the client's computer. Give them a call at 1-888-858-4750 or email sales@openfit.com.