Today’s hearing devices use nanoscience.
Incredibly small computer chips are inside each and every state-of-the-art device. The chip has the power to process millions of calculations every second. Your hearing test results are stored within each ear’s computer chip and is used to calculate just how much to amplify specific frequencies in speech and other important sounds.
The processor utilizes an open platform design which means information and changes can be downloaded into the circuit.
Changes in your hearing over time will be mapped by our professionals at Michels Hearing. We can send those test results into the hearing device at any time and then re-program the device to match your new listening needs.
Software updates are possible also. We make sure that each patient has the recent firmware updates to the processor. If the chip has a new update, we can download it into your hearing devices for you.
We are happy to partner with the most advanced and largest hearing aid manufacturer: Audibel. Powered by Starkey Hearing Technologies, Audibel is the biggest network of highly trained hearing Specialists in the country. They are also the only American owned and operated hearing aid lab based out of Minnesota.
Packed inside each little hearing device are many parts which are crucial to provide quality customized sound. Here’s a look at the main parts.
The inside parts are incredibly small and are carefully assembled under a microscope. Custom shelled hearing devices fully customize the hearing device to your ear’s specific shape. They are laser built using a sophisticated process, produced layer by layer. All of the following components are found in all hearing aid styles.
Above: A look insde a receiver-in-the-canal style.
The microphone is the part of the hearing device that picks up the sound from the outside. It converts sounds it hears to an electrical energy which is used by the other parts of the hearing aid. Microphones are able to now separate sounds into categories like speech and noise to help you more than older designs.
Some hearing devices are built with two microphones, which we call a directional system. Directional microphones work together to help find speech in noise by focusing directly at it.
If a hearing device has just one mic, it is call an omni-directional mic. Omni mics work well at picking up sounds all around you, not just directionally.
If you have two microphones, we can customize them to work in directional, omni, or an automatic mode depending on your expectations and needs.
As discussed earlier, the microchip contains a lot of research and development.
It’s also called the processor or circuit.
It takes the electric signals received from the microphone and converts them into digital signals that can be manipulated. At this point, the chip will carry out millions of calculations based on what is being heard. It will then manipulate the sound based on your hearing loss to deliver a customized experience.
Once it’s done, it changes the sound back to an analog signal where it’s sent to the final main component.
Here is the final process of your hearing device.
The receiver is the speaker, and it takes the analog signal from the microchip and produces the exact sounds prescribed by it.
Hearing devices can have other parts too.
For instance, telecoils are magnetic pieces that help interact with phones. They can be activated automatically in the presence of a phone or by pushing a small button.
Push buttons can also be used to change volume or memory presets. Different presets can be programmed by your professional for television, noise, outdoor environments, and more.
Other accessories nowadays are wireless antennae. These internal small accessories come standard with most devices at Michels Hearing and allow for user synchronized controls (turn up one side, the other turns up with it). They allow for bluetooth connectivity to smart phone and computers. They also allow two hearing devices to work as a team as they communicate their processing orders to each other.
Hearing devices also have battery compartments (rechargeable options available), vents, and wax prevention systems.
There’s a lot that goes into these tiny devices.
