The evolution of hearing aids has gone from rudimentary and downright-unsightly earpieces to almost-unseen and ultra-sensitive hearing devices. While it may seem that this evolution from the bulky and larger hearing aids to streamlined and virtually invisible hearing aids was a normal course of events for individuals with hearing loss, it really shows that the marriage of high-technology and modern-medicine is a wondrous event to behold.
Big and Ugly no More - Hearing Aids Now Sleek and Stylish
Big and Ugly no More - Hearing Aids Now Sleek and Stylish
The myths are still out there concerning hearing aids and we will look at some of the most dynamic and untruthful right here and right now. For starters hearing aids are no longer big and ugly units that seem to extend the individual wearers ears out 6 to 12 inches. Currently there are hearing aids that fit inside the individual wearer's ear and cannot be seen at all by the suspecting or unsuspecting individual. Another myth is that the hearing aids are virtually ineffective along with the myth that they really are quite unsightly to gaze upon and wear as well. With improved technology, especially digital technology, hearing aids have been taken to a whole new level and this is in large part to a laser-focused mindset from the designers who are now making hearing aids as cool as dark sunglasses.
From big trumpets to.... cool hearing aids
How Did Hearing Aids Become Cool?
How Did Hearing Aids Become Cool?
The very first hearing aids were referred to as ear trumpets and were the pioneers, so to speak, of the entire field of hearing aids. The problem with ear trumpets was of course that they were too bulky to be portable and the invention of transistors signaled the end of the too-heavy and inefficient hearing aids. The digital age, specifically one of the latest innovations which is referred to as ADRO (adaptive dynamic range optimization) technology, came in the nick of time and has benefited literally millions of individuals with hearing loss issues almost instantaneously. Hearing aid technology has certainly come a long way since this time. With new designs that fit behind the ear or even in the ear with every color imaginable to fit personality, skin tone, hair color and design specifics these hearing aids are now part of the fashion instead of a detractor to the
overall wearer's look.Bluetooth Excitement
One exciting new development in the world of hearing aids is that they can now be seen as personal Bluetooth headset devices thanks in part to the wireless capabilities and high technology breakthroughs that the digital age has presented to everyone. When tied in directly to hearing aids individuals can now watch TV or listen to music with the wireless signals being piped right into the hearing aid device! Talk about your high-tech hearing aid situation! There are even hearing aids that now adapt over time to your personal preferences so that there is no resetting of preferences or any type of manipulation of the device as the hearing aids are quite intuitive to say the very least.
Lost in Translation?
While this is all fine and good and high technology does have its benefits the importance of hearing aids cannot be lost in translation. Hearing aids exist to aid the individual person with regaining some or perhaps all of their previously lost hearing capacity. The ability to hear again is the number one reason and benefit to those that adorn these apparatuses of hearing aid benefit.
iPod Jamming
It is great that individuals can now hear their favorite music streamed in and piped in from their iPod or even watch 60 Minutes and have the audio streamed right into their ears! In the hearing aid industry the bottom line is that the wearers have improved hearing and the hearing aid device can be either stylish and seen and adored or unseen and hidden, the choice is now theirs!
Leap into Digital Age
If you were to ask 10 individual hearing aid wearers what their number one priority and goal would be most if not all will tell you the same thing, improved hearing. The beauty of high technology and our leap into the digital age has made everything smaller and better and this is why hearing aids are cool in today's high-tech age.
Better and Smaller
Just how far will the hearing aid industry go is anyone's guess but we can inform you that hearing aid manufacturers, researchers and scientists in labs and college universities across the nation and world for that matter are diligently working on better and smaller hearing aid devices. One of the obvious goals is to have the hearing aid physically become part of the human anatomy much like inter-ocular optical surgery now can do. By implanting the hearing aid into the ear canal of the individual wearer the industry could then say that they have done what started out with an ear trumpet, complete the cycle of restored hearing, invisibly.
Space-Age Technology
Although this sounds like space-age technology this is what was probably said when the people heard that one day we would be able to lose the ear trumpet for a smaller more advanced hearing aid and that the earth is flat not round! If you have a hearing issue or feel that you are not hearing as well as you used to then please have a hearing professional check your hearing and maybe you will be the one with the cool, sky-blue hearing aid listening and listening clearly to the Grateful Dead?
