How do digital hearing aids work?
Digital aids work in a different way. They take the signal from the microphone and convert it into ‘bits’ of data – numbers that can be manipulated by a tiny computer in the hearing aid. This makes it possible for the hearing aid to process sounds in ways that are impossible with analogue aids. It also means that the person fitting the hearing aid can tailor the sound very precisely to suit you.

The more advanced digital aids can be very finely adjusted to suit your individual needs. You may also be able to switch between different settings suitable for different listening conditions. Many digital aids even adjust themselves automatically to suit different sound environments.

Can digital hearing aids help cut out background noise?
People who use traditional analogue hearing aids often complain that they find it difficult or impossible to follow conversations in noisy places.

Many digital aids are designed to reduce steady kinds of background noise, such as the rumble of traffic or the whirr of a fan. This can make listening more comfortable. But it does not necessarily help you to pick out a single voice from everything else going on, especially when several people are talking at once.

Two things have been shown to improve hearing in noisy situations more than anything else – wearing hearing aids in both ears, and using hearing aids that have directional microphones.

Directional microphone systems amplify sounds that come from in front of you more than sounds to the side or behind you. This makes it easier for you to focus on what you want to listen to in a noisy place. Most digital hearing aids have microphones that can be set to operate like this. This means you can switch between directional and all-round sound, depending on what you need to hear at the time. Some digital aids will detect where the noise is coming from and automatically adjust to reduce the noise selectively. However, a hearing aid cannot know what you want to listen to and so the reduction of unwanted sound can never be perfect.

Can digital hearing aids help reduce whistling?
Yes. Some digital hearing aids have feedback management systems. This means that they can automatically detect any feedback and try to reduce the whistling that bothers many people who use hearing aids.

More comfortable listening
Most digital hearing aids have some form of loudness compression system. This means the hearing aid can manage sounds of different volumes and only amplify them as much as you need. It means the aid can be programmed to suit your particular hearing loss and ensures that you always hear different sounds at levels that are comfortable for you. This type of aid is often completely self-adjusting.

It will only work well for you if the person who fits it also adjusts the settings carefully to suit you, when you first have it. You may need to have your aid fine-tuned again, when you get used to it.