Technology Marches On! Wireless Comes to Hearing Aids

The world is on the move. Today, were all connected to the grid through cell phones, wireless laptops, Blackberry PDAs, wireless TV (the dish) and other devices that keep us productive and improve the quality of life for millions of people on a global scale.

And its all done without wires. Nothing is connected. Signals are transmitted through the air to receiving points cell phone antennas, for instance and sent to the recipient without wires. This wireless connectivity has changed the world. Now, its changed the way hearing aids are being designed.

The Common Problems of the Common Hearing Aid

Despite advancements in digital technology, which have led to smaller, more precise and sophisticated hearing aids loaded with a menu of cool features, the problems associated with hearing aids are still problems for some wearers.

For example, many users find that talking on the telephone (land line or cell) can be difficult and even painful when whistling feedback blocks out all communications. In fact, many hearing aid users remove their hearing devices before talking on the telephone simply to avoid the headaches.

Another problem wearers often cite is hearing comfort. Not wearing comfort, which is a completely different issue, but hearing comfort. Hearing comfort includes such things as naturalness of the sound (obviously the less processed the sound the better), automated microphone directionality so you can hear the person to whom youre speaking even with a lot of background noise, and reverberation or the echo effect that sometimes occurs when hearing aid wearers are listening in a large space like a concert hall.

Indeed, these problems have been addressed and, in most cases, mitigated through the use of digital sound technology, improved microphone directionality, sound filters and devices that actually learn the listening preferences of the wearer. Todays hearing devices are much improved over models that were built just 10 years ago.

And today, the wireless technology that enables us to talk to anyone near a cell tower is used to improve hearing comfort and functionality of hearing aids. Wireless hearing aid technology is a giant step forward within the hearing health community and if you wear a hearing device, youre a member of that community.

Virtual Binaural Hearing

You were born with two ears and all of your life youve heard using two ears. Thats called binaural hearing picking up sound through two sources your ears, which are separated by your head. Binaural hearing equips us to locate the source of sound quickly a throwback to the days when humans were tasty treats for saber-toothed tigers and other predators. To survive, humans had to be able to locate the source of sound instantly. Unfortunately, one of the biggest complaints of hearing aid wearers is the inability to pinpoint the sources of sound.

Many hearing aid users wear two devices, one in each ear. Each hearing aid is processing sound based on the hearing loss in each individual ear. Because the hearing aids are working independently to process sound, the intensity and timing differences of sound coming from different directions are often lost. These intensity and timing differences of sounds are what we rely on to localize sound.

Todays wireless hearing devices address this problem of reducing localization cues by using wireless technology. A good example is Oticons Epoq.

Oticons Epoq, helps to maintain the sound level differences between the two ears by the two hearing aids talking to one another wirelessly to look at timing and level differences between the hearing aids. This wireless communication helps to maintain the localization cues our ears provide, despite wearing hearing aids. These wireless devices maintain data transfer rates between the two hearing aids at speeds measured in nanoseconds, i.e. virtually instantaneously.

Keeping Plugged In With Wireless Technology

Starkey Laboratories recently introduced its ELI (ear level instrument) that is able to receive Bluetooth wireless signals directly without any interface.

Bluetooth is the company at the head of the pack in wireless communications. Bluetooth technology allows computers in an office to network (connect to each other) wirelessly using a transmitter and a receiver (antenna). No hard wiring required.

This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for connecting with people who experience some degree of hearing loss. Lets say the boss is out of the office and a big decision has to be made now. If the decision maker wears a hearing device, s/he may not be readily available. Oh, he or she can wear a vibrating pager and call into the office from a land line but this is the new millennium.

Wouldnt it be easier if that critical manager could pick up Bluetooth signals directly from a cell phone. Simply answer the cell and the signal the communications are wirelessly sent to Starkeys ELI. Starkey President Jerry Ruzicka put it this way. ELI offers hearing aid wearers the freedom to communicate with Bluetooth-compatible telephones, televisions and computers. ELIs digital signal provides wireless relief from the many problems associated with telephone use by hearing aid wearers. Cool. We can talk on the phone again without rupturing an eardrum with a feedback blast.

Electromagnetic Field Technology

Siemens, designer of premium quality, cutting edge hearing devices, has taken the wireless phenomenon one step further with the introduction of its e2e (ear-to-ear) technology that employs an electromagnetic field to exchange sound data from hearing device to hearing device.

All machines that run on electricity produce an electromagnetic field. Its part of the process of converting electrical energy into the power to light a light bulb, run the dishwasher or watch TV. All involve the creation of electromagnetic fields.

The use of this EMF technology improves hearing sound quality for wearers of two hearing devices. Sound information is instantly transferred from the device in one ear to the device in the other. So, for instance, if the ambient sound increases and that increase is picked up by the left hearing aid, that information will be sent instantly to the right ear device. This ability to share information simultaneously enables both hearing devices to more quickly assess the overall listening condition and adjust themselves accordingly.

What Does the Future Hold?

Hearing devices that can pick up wireless signals put us all in touch again, regardless of the means. Wireless transmission of sound data between two hearing aids creates true binaural listening and improved localization of sound sources.

Wireless hearing devices enable us to use all of the new electronics necessary for those who lead active lives and still want to keep in touch. The wireless age has become a part of hearing health to the benefit of the growing population of hearing aid users. Purer, more natural sound, improved localization and vastly increased connectivity are here today.

We can only image the advancements the future holds in hearing technology. Weve only just begun.