Background noise when using a hearing aid. Microphone effect - acoustic feedback effect

Over time, any mechanism, including the most modern electronic device, can fail. But problems that arise do not always require the participation of a specialist; sometimes you can restore the device’s functionality yourself.

This statement is also true for hearing aids, since minor problems arise at any stage of operation. What problems can we fix ourselves?

1. The hearing aid does not turn on:
   • The most likely cause is insufficient battery charge, so all you need to do is install a new battery.
   • Sometimes the polarity is not observed when installing the battery. In this case, it is enough to first remove and then insert the battery correctly.
2. The hearing aid makes a buzzing or buzzing sound:
   • The charge is running low. The battery needs to be replaced.
   • The reason may also be a loose fit of the box lid where the batteries are located. It is necessary to carefully close the lid to avoid breaking the fasteners.
3. The hearing aid emits a weak signal or is completely silent:
   • Check whether the hearing aid operating mode is turned on. If not, turn it on.
   • There is a possibility that the volume level is at a minimum. Turn up the volume.
   • Another possible reason is a loose fit of the in-ear hearing aid or the insert of the behind-the-ear device to the ear canal. Remove and install the internal unit again.
   • It happens that the hearing aid is clogged with earwax, so it will require cleaning and, possibly, subsequent consultation and adjustment with an audiologist.
4. The hearing aid makes a whistling sound:
   • A similar effect often occurs when the volume level is too high. Use the appropriate device to reduce the volume of the device.
   • The cause may also be earwax that has accumulated in the ear canal or gotten into the hearing aid. All you need to do is carry out hygiene procedures and clean the device itself. If necessary, you can seek help from an audiologist.
5. The hearing aid produces intermittent or distorted sounds:
   • Often the reason is high volume levels. Lower it.
   • Perhaps the battery life has expired. Use a new battery.

Another popular question is why does a hearing aid make noise?

It happens that noise occurs due to a failure of previously set parameters. The presence of noise in the device may also indicate an incorrect selection of the device or its excessive power. There are several ways to solve this problem: set the minimum frequency level on your existing device or choose another less powerful hearing aid.

The main reason for hearing aid squeaking is The device does not fit tightly to the ear. Typically, the problem is with the earmold used in the hearing aid. The insert may not fit well with the rest of the device, or simply be of poor quality. In this case, the liner needs to be replaced.

Squeaking is also possible if The device itself is of poor quality. If you purchased a hearing aid at a low price, consider purchasing a higher quality model. Of course, the presence of defects is not excluded in a hearing aid of any model, but the name of a well-known manufacturer better insures against the presence of a malfunction. You can also consult with other people who wear hearing aids: they can often tell you where to buy a good device.

The problem may be in the setup of the device, if it goes wrong or is simply done poorly. To set up the device, you should contact a specialist - an audiologist-adjuster. If your regular audiologist cites any other reasons for the device malfunction and refuses to adjust the device again, we strongly recommend that you find another, more competent specialist. Typically, hearing aid fitting is a complex and lengthy process; An audiologist should not refuse to help you under any circumstances if you claim that you need a hearing aid refit.

The thing is that the distance between the receiver (speaker) and the microphone system is small. And because of the short distance, high-frequency short-wave sound that is received by the microphone and amplified many, many times sometimes gets back into the microphone. This circumstance causes his self-excitation. And the sound gets there due to very small gaps between the earbud and the ear canal. Thus, the higher the volume of the hearing aid, the louder the whistling.
To avoid this problem, make sure the earmold fits snugly in your ear. This is why an individual insert is made.
The problem of whistling is also solved by the program itself when setting up a digital device.

Among the analog programmable hearing aids, there is the Swift Oticon model, which is not expensive, about 7,000 rubles, and produces sound like a top-end digital one. And all because digital has not yet fully approached analog sound. A digital hearing aid mainly provides noise reduction (a lot of technological gadgets), features (connection with a telephone, TV) and, perhaps, everything. Analog gives true clean sound. All from personal experience!

Best Hearing Aids. Premium class. http://www.dobsluh.ru/info/88-2012-04-17-17-26-23/

Why should you wear hearing aids in both ears?

The use of two hearing aids allows a person to restore the ability to determine the direction of sound in space and increases speech intelligibility. In addition, two hearing aids provide additional amplification, which is extremely important for large degrees of hearing impairment, when one hearing aid does not provide the necessary amplification.

WHAT ARE THERE ARE HEARING AIDS?

All hearing aids can be divided according to the following characteristics:

• by appearance:
• BTE type (located behind the ear) - miniature, designed for hearing loss from minimal to severe,
• and regular size, suitable for any hearing loss,
• intra-ear (located partly in the external auditory canal, partly in the auricle), compensate for hearing loss from slight to severe (up to 80 dB);
• intra-channel or so-called deep-immersion devices, almost invisible (located entirely in the external auditory canal) are designed for mild to moderate hearing loss - (up to 60-70 dB);
• by setting method:
• TRIMMER - settings are adjusted using a screwdriver,
• PROGRAMMABLE - information about the settings is entered into the hearing aid using a special programmer via a computer;
• according to the method of sound processing -
• ANALOGUE (regular),
• DIGITAL

Both analog hearing aids and those with digital sound processing can be trimmed and programmable, i.e. Settings can be entered into the device manually or using a programmer via a computer.

• in terms of power - the hearing aid must accurately match the degree of hearing loss and never exceed the required gain. All devices are divided into:
• LOW POWER - designed for hearing loss from minor to moderate, which corresponds to 1-2 degrees (up to 60-70 dB),
• MEDIUM POWER - designed for the degree of hearing loss from moderate to severe (degree 2-3 - from 4 0 to 8 0 dB),
• POWERFUL - designed mainly for severe hearing loss (degree 3-4 - from 60 to 95 dB),
• SUPER POWERFUL - HEARING AIDS designed to compensate for severe and profound hearing loss (grade 4 - deafness with residual hearing - from 70 to 110 dB).
• according to audio processing capabilities
• so-called devices BASIC LEVEL PROSTHETICS. These include digital and analog hearing aids that have one or two independent tuning channels, LINEAR or NON-LINEAR Amplification, but with a limited number of tuning parameters and manual volume control. If the patient has satisfactory SPEECH INTEGRITY, these devices provide a fairly comfortable perception of surrounding sounds in silence.
• COMFORTABLE LEVEL PROSTHETICS devices are hearing aids with digital sound processing, nonlinear amplification, independent adjustment of the low- and high-frequency range and automatic volume control. They provide more comfortable listening to surrounding sounds in silence due to a sufficient number of settings, the presence of a microphone self-noise suppression system, extended dynamic range and very low nonlinear distortion.
• HIGH LEVEL PROSTHETIC devices - this group includes digital hearing aids that have high adjustment flexibility due to the presence of 3 or more independent channels, special digital algorithms for automatic adjustment in different acoustic situations, with suppression of ambient noise in order to improve speech intelligibility.

A hearing aid amplifies ambient sounds and transmits them to the internal structures of the ear.

Hearing aid whistles(a high-frequency whistle appears) when the amplified Sound enters the microphone of the Hearing Aid, i.e. when the sounds start be forced out. The main task is sealing ear canal and preventing amplified Sound from escaping outside.

When you turn on the Hearing Aid (even before installing it in the ear), a whistle occurs, which indicates that the device is working. After you put the device on your ear, whistling occurs only in cases where the earmold is incorrectly selected or is not tightly inserted into the ear canal.

There may be several reasons leading to this situation:

1. Excessive wax in the ear canal.

Which leads to disruption of the normal passage of amplified Sound.

Ears need to be cleaned periodically.

2. Turn on the Hearing Aid at full volume.

Turn down the volume of your Hearing Aid or contact a Professional for advice on whether you need to purchase a more powerful hearing aid.

3. Changing body position.

4. Inadequate standard or custom earmold.

Contact the Hearing Center for a quality custom earmold.

A large loss of hearing or a large gain in the hearing aid requires precise selection of an earmold.

5. Worn plastic straw, which connects the BTE hearing aid to the earmold.

She pulls out the hearing aid earmold until it no longer fits snugly in the ear.

Periodic replacement of the tube is necessary.

In modern expensive models of Hearing Aids, the problem of feedback (whistle) has been successfully solved.

A special feedback suppression function allows you to perform any action without worrying about the appearance of disturbing Sound.