Moving From Analogue To Digital Hearing Aids

Analogue and digital hearing aids are completelyThings won't sound the same
different beasts. Switching from analogue to digitalWhen you switch from analogue to digital, be
can be be a rewarding experience - the latest digitalprepared for things to sound differently. This will be
technology can boost your hearing range in waysparticularly true if you are wearing an older pair of
that older analogues never could. But, the differencesanalogues. I found that people's voices sounded
in the technologies can pose problems.differently through digital aids, especially my own -
Didn't that used to be louder?they were higher-pitched and easier to understand
Analogue hearing aids amplify all sounds at the samebut the difference from what I was used to hearing
level - this can make it difficult for wearers to hearbefore took some time to adjust to.
conversation when there is a lot of background noise.Programming
Digital hearing aids are much cleverer in that they areWhen your hearing aid vendor receives your new
able reduce the level of the background noise anddigital hearing aids from the manufacturer they will
make conversation easier to hear.come setup for your audiogram. Even though this is
Due to their background-reducing capabilities you willthe case and they should be ready to use, I've found
find that when you first wear digital aids a lot ofthat I have had to make quite a few trips back to
noise that was once loud to you is now quiet - thisthe vendor to get the aids re-programmed slightly.
will more than likely make you think that the aidsThis may be just bad luck but it's worth keep in mind
aren't working correctly or that they haven't beenthat you might need to make extra trips back to the
set at a high enough volume. Don't worry. Listen tovendor to tweak your aids' settings until you are
someone talking in a noisy situation and you shouldhappy with them - this may be particularly important
find that you are able to hear them much moreif your vendor is charging per visit!
clearly than when you wore analogue aids.