Digital BTE Hearing Aids Might Look Like Old Analog BTE Hearing Aids, But They Are Smaller And More Effective

Every behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid has a microphone, amplifier, speaker, ear hook, and a batter. With digital BTE hearing aids, all manufacturers can choose a different location for each part of the hearing aid. The newer, smaller digital BTE hearing aids don’t even utilize the ear-mold, and instead, have a tiny bud, or dome, that has holes in it.

Smaller Than Old Analog BTE Hearing Aids

On the outside, digital BTE hearing aids seem to look almost identical to old analog counterparts. While the digital aid is smaller, it actually also has the ear-hook extension and a tube that connects to the ear mold. Though the two may look very similar, and are actually fairly close in size, the digital BTE hearing aids actually seem to have more parts.

Digital BTE hearing aids also possess another feature. They can actually fit behind and over your ears. The ear hooks will fit over the fronts of a person’s ears, and point to the direction the ear canal is facing. One end of the tube has an ear hook connected to it, while the other connects to the other part: the ear-mold, in the back part of the aid’s canal.

A chip for Digital Signal Processing (or DSP) is a new, special feature for digital BTE hearing aids, and these aren’t found on the older analog BTE aids. The DSP is the central command center of the digital BTE hearing aids, and these chips have micro-circuitry which is quite similar to that which is found in the processor of modern computers. These chips are loaded with software programs which are burnt into them.

Digital BTE hearing aids with these DSP chips are very versatile, and do a few functions. For example, they utilize multiple response frequency bands that are quite similar to equalizers in a stereo or other music system. They also come with a variety of different channels that the user can select, so that they can accommodate different environments of sound. Many of these DSP chips include functions for noise reduction filters and dynamic contrast detection, and even have multiple microphones.

It is always a good idea to look for and read digital hearing aid reviews, since the fast pace of modern technology, hearing aids improve constantly, and it makes it difficult to keep current with all of the new features on improvements.

Always make sure to look for expert opinions and reviews, since they will inform you of salient features, better prices, give you the pros and cons concerning new technology, and tell you the best places to buy your new hearing aids.