Innovations in Hearing Aid Technology Prioritize Comfort and Connectivity

Hearing loss is a degenerative condition which can occur as a result of aging, consistent exposure to loud noises and many other factors. About 15 percent of American adults report having some difficulty with hearing. As a result, research and new development is always underway in the search for products and technologies to improve the experience of individuals with hearing loss. 

IoT Integration 
Hearing loss can make people alienated and withdrawn from their communities. Hearing aid technology has the goal of helping individuals by providing the support needed to hear effectively and comfortably. By combining IoT technology with hearing aid technology, developers hope to give users a better experience.

Hearing aids are now being developed with Bluetooth connectivity. The addition of Bluetooth allows a wearer to connect with other compatible auditory technologies in the house, such as a phone or television.

Own Voice Processing
Signia has developed Own Voice Processing (OVP), which is designed to assist hearing aid wearers with distinguishing their voice from other external sounds. Hearing aids can cause comfort issues for many people because of the way a wearer’s voice is amplified to an irritating degree. This is highly bothersome and can discourage people from using hearing aids, despite their necessity.

Own Voice Processing aims at remedying this through detecting a user’s voice and processing it separately from environmental sounds through bilateral data sharing and processing. As the hearing aid scans for the acoustic pathway of sound traveling from the wearer’s mouth it suppresses the volume of the user’s voice.

Bone Conduction
Bone conduction has been present in hearing aid technology for over forty years, and hearing aids that use this technology allow a user to perceive sound through vibration.

Hearing aid technology continues to innovate with a priority in user comfort and connectivity. Having the ability to interact seamlessly with the technology and world around you continues to be the principle of innovation for IoT and future technologies.