What Are the Best Hearing Aids in 2024 2

Your Hearing Health Revolution: Explore Today’s Advanced Features

12/08/2024 | Hearing Aids

Hearing healthcare has taken a long journey from when humans first started communicating via spoken language to today. From using our hands around our ears, to a throne used by a king to improve his hearing, to old body-wearable technology, all the way to today’s advanced hearing aids—it has been a long and exciting journey!

Thankfully, today’s technology is the most sophisticated and customizable yet. When most people think of devices, we think of big, bulky hearing aids that are constantly screaming, like our grandparents wore.

The good news is we have come a long way from those devices. Today’s article will discuss what some of the newest updates in technology are, how this new technology changes hearing aids’ performance, and what new changes are on the horizon.

Updates in Sound Processing and AI Assistance

In recent years we have had huge jumps in technology compared to previous hearing aid devices. The biggest changes have arisen from individuals struggling to understand in noisy environments. Noisy environments are hard even for a normal-hearing listener, let alone for those with hearing loss. Today’s technology uses its algorithms to read the environment, decide what type of situation you are in, and change its programming based on that.

For example, if you are in a quiet environment, the computer chip will only amplify the sounds that your hearing loss impacts listening to. However, if you are in a noisy environment, the device will search for the voice you are listening to and increase its volume while simultaneously reducing the volume of all other noise in the vicinity.

Amazingly, we have had huge changes to how smart this particular piece of the computer chip is, and now more than ever it is less stressful and draining to listen in noisy environments.

Celebrating Accessibility

A few other big updates in technology include some of the accessibility features on devices. There have been large updates to charging methods and Bluetooth (both for the hearing aids to talk to each other as well as for them to communicate with smartphones), and big accessory upgrades.

These updates make listening easier for the individual as well as provide lots of flexibility to find which combination of devices, features, and accessories work best for you and your listening lifestyle!

In terms of charging, many hearing aids are now rechargeable as the standard, instead of requiring disposable batteries.

This change has happened for multiple reasons! Many find the battery length to be longer and more consistent and find chargers much easier to use as they get older.

Rechargeable devices reach a full charge within about three to five hours, depending on the brand, meaning that if for some reason the battery is low, even 30 minutes on the charger can give an additional few hours of battery life.

Additionally, as we get older, our hands have a harder time manipulating small objects, which can make changing batteries particularly difficult.

Switching to rechargeable hearing aids also generally allows individuals to feel more confident traveling. The charger can easily travel with you, and as long as you have access to an outlet you can charge your aids quickly! No more needing to worry about forgetting battery packs and having to find a local store that sells them.

Bluetooth has also seen major upgrades in the past few years. When connected to a compatible device, streaming is clearer, more stable, and easier to do than ever. This allows our patients to enjoy phone calls, music, and even audiobooks directly in their hearing aids!

Having the sound sent directly to the ears typically leads to a cleaner and easier to understand sound quality, which is particularly important for phone calls where phone sound processing can degrade the overall quality of the signal.

Hearing Aid Accessories Galore!

In terms of updates, many accessories for hearing aids have had huge changes. From portable microphones to streamers you connect to the TV, all of the devices are smaller, stronger, and easier to use than ever. These can allow individuals who need a little extra support to clearly hear their TVs, their family members at dinner, or their coworkers at important meetings. They can give you the flexibility to adapt to any environment you find yourself in!

For most individuals, working with your hearing healthcare provider to find the right devices for you and your specific loss will alleviate a lot of the stress, isolation, frustration, and anxiety that are paired with not hearing well.

With these updates in technology, situations that used to be difficult should be much easier for you to navigate. We know that individuals who consistently wear their hearing aids have the best long-term communication and understanding outcomes. These updates make it easier than ever to build a strong habit of wearing your hearing aids and modifying them to your particular listening needs.

The Future of Hearing Aids and Audiology Care

Even with all of the huge changes we have seen within the past few years, we have a few large updates on the horizon! On the technology side of things, I’m sure many individuals have heard about Apple’s new AirPod Pro 2 feature that allows for at-home hearing tests and turns the AirPods themselves into functional hearing aids if a loss is detected. New reports also say they will double as hearing protection for noisy gatherings and environments.

This is a huge change in hearing healthcare that is very exciting for tech consumers, patients, and providers alike. We also want to urge individuals to seek out professional care from their local hearing healthcare providers if they have any questions or concerns, as certain symptoms and types and levels of hearing loss are better managed with in-office care. That being said, we as professionals are all excited to see a new influx of accessibility to the hearing healthcare journey!

We also know there is a large Bluetooth update on the horizon. Over the next few years Bluetooth as we know it is anticipated to get a large overhaul to make streaming more accessible and stable and easier to use than ever before.

Bluetooth has been around for many years and seen only minor improvements. This new version, called Auracast, will create a whole new wave of ways to use, access, and experience the world more easily than ever before in loud, busy, or complex environments like churches, courtrooms, airports, and many more locations.

Hearing aids are even beginning to implement this technology within their devices now, so as the Auracast technology trickles into the community, the devices are able to accept the new signals.

Between upgrades to existing technology and large new changes arriving in the near future, this new wave of access will allow individuals a whole new way to begin their hearing healthcare journeys. It will be an amazing way for individuals to explore what is out there in regard to their hearing health and to see what tools and resources are right for them!

We hope many individuals find benefit from these features provided by Apple, and ultimately for that to open the door for them to seek out guidance and care from other hearing healthcare professionals as well. For many, just trying amplification can spark their interest in pursuing hearing aids, assistive technology, and learning as much as they can from their local audiologist about the aforementioned technology and good communication strategies.

Start Your Hearing Healthcare Journey Today!

With all of these updates, it may seem a bit overwhelming as to how these changes actually help your hearing aids on a day-to-day basis. The easiest answer is that all of these changes help you so that your daily listening experience is as easy and user-friendly as possible. New hearing aid technology lets you as the wearer spend less time fiddling with your devices and more time out and about enjoying listening to all of the sounds around you!

Hopefully this article has shed some light on major updates that have happened to hearing aid technology as well as some upgrades that are occurring in the near future. If you have any questions or you want to discuss these changes in depth, see what today’s technology has compared to your current devices, or start your own hearing healthcare journey, please feel free to contact our office and we would be happy to help!

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Dr. Haley Shirley

Haley Shirley is a Doctor of Audiology based in Anchorage. Haley holds a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Kent State University. She recently graduated from the Northeast Ohio Au.D. Consortium (NOAC), earning her Doctorate of Audiology and a Certificate in Gerontology. During her tenure at NOAC, Haley accrued substantial experience across a diverse range of clinical settings. Her professional interests currently focus on hearing diagnostics, hearing aids, and tinnitus management. An active participant in her educational community, Haley dedicated two years as the Education Committee Chair for NOAC's Student Academy of Audiology and spent three years tutoring both undergraduate and graduate courses in math, biology, and audiology. Haley is a member of the Ohio Academy of Audiology, the Student Academy of Audiology, and The Gerontological Society of America, actively contributing to the advancement of her field.

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