Hearing Aids
Hearing aids are small electronic devices that you wear in or behind your ear. They turn up the sounds you need louder so that you can listen, communicate, and participate more fully in daily activities. Hearing aids can help you hear more in both quiet and noisy situations. Special algorithims and programming help boosts speech sounds and turns down unwanted noise.
A hearing aid has three basic parts: a microphone, amplifier, and speaker. A hearing aid receives sound through a microphone, which converts the sound waves to electrical signals and sends them to an amplifier. The amplifier increases the power of the signals and then sends them to the ear through a speaker after being processed by extremely efficient microchips.
Hearing aids are primarily useful in improving the hearing and speech comprehension of people who have hearing loss that results from damage to the small sensory cells in the inner ear, called hair cells. This type of hearing loss is called sensorineural hearing loss. The damage can occur as a result of disease, aging, or injury from noise or certain medicines.
A hearing aid magnifies sound vibrations entering the ear. Surviving hair cells detect the larger vibrations and convert them into neural signals that are passed along to the brain. The greater the damage to a person’s hair cells, the more severe the hearing loss, and the greater the hearing aid amplification needed to make up the difference.
If you think you might have hearing loss and could benefit from a hearing aid, please book an appointment with our Audiologists. Our Audiologists will investigate the cause of the hearing loss and provide the most appropriate treatment. The Audiologist will measure hearing loss and will perform a hearing test or Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA) to assess the type and degree of loss. Before attending you can also try our online hearing tests a the bottom of the page.
At the Manchester Hearing Aid and Earwax Removal Clinic our hearing aids:
- Help you hear everyday sounds such as the doorbell and your mobile phone.
- Improve your ability to hear speech.
- Make you feel more confident when talking to people and make it easier for you to follow conversations in different environments especially in restaurants and pubs.
- Help you understand where sounds are coming from.
- Help you to enjoy listening to music and the TV, at a volume that’s comfortable for those around you.
- Our hearing aids can protect against cognitive decline, previous studies have shown the link between hearing loss and dementia, hearing aid use can help in slowing the process of dementia.
Hearing Aid Manufacturers
Hearing aids are available from GN resound, Oticon, Starkey, Signia, Phonak and Unitron. The most upto date models are used at industry beating prices. All hearing aids are set up using Insitu Audiometry or a real ear measurement. All hearing aid types are used including Behind the ear (BTE), receiver in the ear (RIE)and custom in the canal models such as an ITC,CIC, IIC and the all new Custom by Resound.
Discreet Custom Products
If you are looking for durable, discreet or comfortable design, custom hearing solutions may fit your needs. Our custom styles feature unique designs and power options in addition to wireless enhancements, ear-to-ear communication, synchronized controls and made for I phone/android controls. With water resistant IP68 coating and rechargeable batteries there really is a hearing aid to fit most needs.
Receiver in the canal rechargeable hearing aids
Receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids sit behind the ear and deliver sound directly into the ear. The receiver is located outside of the hearing aid itself and instead inside ear canal. The hearing aid and receiver are connected by a discreet ‘receiver wire’ which houses an electrical cable. This allows for best in class sound quality and discretion. This is The Manchester Hearing Aid Clinic’s gold standard hearing aid device.