Modern hearing aids

Older analogue hearing aids worked simply: a microphone picked up sound, an amplifier made it louder and a receiver sent it into the ear. Everything was amplified the same way — speech, street noise and the clatter of cutlery. In noisy places they were more of a nuisance, and the only thing you could adjust was the volume.

A digital hearing aid has a processor at its heart. It turns the sound from the microphones into numbers and performs millions of calculations every second:

• it amplifies only the tones you cannot hear — exactly according to your audiogram. It works in dozens of channels, so it can leave low tones unchanged and boost the high ones, where hearing is usually most damaged,
• it makes quiet sounds louder, but not loud ones — you will hear a whisper, and a slammed door will not startle you,
• it recognises speech and separates it from noise — the newest hearing aids use artificial intelligence trained on millions of recorded sentences,
• it focuses on the person speaking — directional microphones reduce noise from behind and from the sides,
• it adapts to your surroundings by itself — differently at home, in a restaurant, in the car or outdoors,
• it prevents whistling, which used to be common with older hearing aids.

Dubious “sound amplifiers” sold online can do none of this. These features (and many more) are found only in genuine hearing aids — medical devices approved by the Czech State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL) that can be prescribed with a health insurance contribution. An amplifier has no processor that can be set to your hearing. It amplifies everything including noise, you do not understand speech any better — and loud amplification can damage what hearing you have left. A hearing aid is a medical device that a doctor sets precisely to your hearing loss.

What else modern hearing aids can do

• Phone and TV straight into your ears — calls, music and TV sound can be sent wirelessly (Bluetooth) directly to the hearing aids.
• Control from your phone — change volume and programmes in an app, discreetly and without touching your ears.
• Overnight charging like a mobile phone, with no batteries to change. One charge lasts all day.
• Resistance to sweat, dust and rain.
• Auracast — a new technology that lets you hear announcements at airports or stations, museum guides or the TV in a waiting room directly in your hearing aids. Places with Auracast are only just appearing.
• Induction loop — in theatres, churches or offices equipped with a loop, the hearing aid carries sound from the public address system straight into your ear.

Available features depend on the category and type of hearing aid. We will always advise you on what makes sense for you.

We offer hearing aids in all categories — from basic models fully covered by health insurance, through the mid-range, to the most technologically advanced. To give you an idea of what today’s top hearing aids can do, here are two examples of premium ranges from leading manufacturers we work with (we fit Oticon, ReSound and Phonak hearing aids).

Today you can add practical accessories to your hearing aids that make listening even easier in certain situations:

• TV transmitter — TV sound goes straight into your hearing aids. You hear clearly and your family can keep the TV at a normal volume.
• Additional microphone — clip it onto the clothing of the person speaking or place it on the table. It helps in restaurants, meetings, lectures or in the car.
• Remote control — for those who prefer not to control their hearing aids with a phone.
• Charging case — charges the hearing aids overnight and keeps them dry; some can charge on the go without a socket.

Accessories are not covered by health insurance. We will be happy to advise you which ones suit your hearing aid.