Discover the ins and outs of these assistive listening devices.
While not everyone with hearing loss uses them, hearing aids can help some people hear the sounds in their environment more clearly. If you use – or are considering using – these assistive listening devices, you may be interested in learning how hearing aids work.
In this infographic, we’ll cover the three basic steps:
- The microphone receives sound and converts it
- The amplifier makes the sound louder
- The receiver sends these amplified sounds into your ear
Keep reading to learn more about how hearing aids work.
The microphone receives sound and converts it
The microphone in your hearing aid is the first step these devices take to send amplified sounds to your ears. This initial process changes slightly depending on whether you have an analog or a digital pair. In analog hearing aids, the microphone converts sound waves into electrical signals for amplification. With digital hearing aids, the microphone converts the sound into digital signals processed by the small computer chip in your device. Once the hearing aid processes the digital signal, it converts into acoustic sound as described in step #2.
The amplifier makes the sound louder
The role of the amplifier in your hearing aids is to – you guessed it! – amplify sound. This step is the same for both types of hearing aids. Your device takes the electrical or digital signal from the microphone and amplifies it for the receiver.
Hearing aids aren’t the only assistive listening devices that use amplification. Check out some of the other tools in our blog post on communication tools for people with hearing loss, including captioned telephones and personal sound amplification products (PSAPs).
The receiver sends these amplified sounds into your ear
Lastly, the amplified sound will travel to your hearing aid receiver or speaker, where it’s directed to your ears. This loud and clear sound transmission can make it easier for you and others with hearing loss to enjoy everyday activities, including having conversations and consuming media.
Do you find that hearing aids make your phone calls challenging? Check out another infographic you may be interested in that provides tips for using a phone with hearing aids. It offers simple hints for making calls easier, including using the speaker phone function and holding the phone near the hearing aid microphone. You can also look for a telephone that’s compatible with your devices. Learn more about the benefits of hearing aid compatible phones on our blog.
In this infographic, we explored how hearing aids work for both analog and digital models. If hearing aids aren’t for you, learn about some of the other types of assistive listening devices that can make living with hearing loss easier.
To learn more about CapTel hearing aid compatible captioned telephones, visit our website or call (800) 233-9130.
