World renowned hearing aid manufacturer, Siemens, has just released a new hearing aid for people whose hearing is
severely impaired. The hearing aid is so thin that it can fit behind the ear of
a hearing-impaired baby.The new device, known as 'Nitro', is one-third narrower than its predecessor, and reason being because that it is equipped with high-performance microchips.
The new device offers an unprecedented sound volume even at the high amplification required for severely hearing-impaired users.
An important feature of hearing aids is that they sufficiently amplify speech to make it easily audible, but at the same time offer a sound experience that is as comfortable and balanced as possible.
The hearing aid receives sound waves through two microphones. The microchips split the sound waves into individual frequency ranges, on the basis of which they create a finely tuned sound no matter what the acoustic situation. The system automatically offsets audio feedback that creates an annoying whistling sound.
Although hearing aids generally have trouble dealing with a babble of
voices such as occurs at parties, the new system can also handle such
situations by making background discussions quieter so that the wearer can
concentrate better on what his or her interlocutor is saying. The technology within the hearing aid enables it to process a broader range of frequencies and split sounds into as many as 48 individually optimised channels.
Although this results in a huge number of calculations, it does not cause any noticeable sound delays, because the system processes 250 million commands per second. This makes listening with a hearing aid much less strenuous than was previously the case.
The signals from the two directional microphones are individually processed in parallel, enabling the system to more quickly eliminate audio feedback and identify sound sources so that irritating background noises can be filtered out.
Siemens engineers enabled left-ear and right-ear hearing aids to exchange data for the first time in 2004. This allows users to recognise differences in the signals received at each ear so that they can localise a sound source, for example.
I hope I have not bamboozled you with all of my technology speak. Suffice to say, this hearing aid is a fantastic advancement in helping those who have a profound hearing loss. The latest microphone technology in this device reduces listening fatigue substantially and right now no other hearing device for profoundly hearing impaired people can offer a comparable performance.
The key features to take from this new hearing aid are:
- A third thinner than its predecessor
- Very high sound volume and high amplification
- Comfortable and balanced sound experience
- Twin directional microphones: giving you more balanced hearing
- Feedback management to filter out unwanted sounds
- Wireless connectivity: compatible with a range of accessories allowing sound from audio sources directly to your ears
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