While hearing aids come in a number of types and styles, they all have the same parts. Understanding how a hearing aid works will help you know when a problem is a simple at-home repair or requires an office appointment.
Four Key Components
The microphone is responsible for picking up the sounds from your environment and translating them into electrical signals.
This part of the hearing aid increases the power or loudness of the electrical signals received from the microphone. The sounds may be modified with a specialized filter or equalizer to ensure only relevant sounds are amplified.
The receiver, also known as the speaker, converts the electrical signals into acoustic signals. These are the sounds heard by the user.
Hearing aids need power to run. Batteries come in a variety of sizes, depending on the size of your hearing aid the complexity of your listening environments. Many newer hearing aids now have rechargeable batteries, which eliminates the need for the user to change the batteries evert five to 14 days.
Additional Hearing Aid Parts
While the above components are in every hearing aid, the following additional parts are dependent on your type and style of hearing aid.
This custom-made, in-ear piece is attached to the hearing aid and helps contain the sound in the user’s ear.
This attachment loops over the top of the ear and connects to the hearing aid with tubing.
This hole in the earmold allows air to flow in and out of the ear to prevent the feeling of a plugged-up ear.
This small filter catches earwax and prevents it from clogging up the hearing aid.
Being able to adjust how louds the sounds entering your ear are is important. This control is not available on all hearing aids. Newer devices are able to be controlled via a cellphone application.
Also known as a T-coil, the telecoil is an essential part of a hearing loop and other assistive listening devices. It is a small magnetic sensor that allows the hearing aid to connect to sound sources, such as a microphone.
Once you and your audiologist work together to pick out the right hearing aid for you, they will review all of the components and make sure you understand how each works. To learn more about hearing aids or to schedule an appointment, contact Elk Grove Hearing Care.