High-level Hearing Aid Technology

Have you ever heard the expression “we get what we pay for in life”? Well, it certainly is true for the high-level technology hearing aids.

This hearing aid technology has the best of everything on offer and includes the most features for the best listening experience. These hearing aids are best for individuals who live an active lifestyle and are in noisy environments often. It provides the most dynamic and automatic support in all types of listening situations.

Music lovers in particular may benefit from this level of technology so they can have the greatest auditory bandwidth leading to the richest and brightest sound quality. When compared to this level of technology, other lower levels may very well fall short, for patients who have music appreciation as one of their top listening goals.

The advanced wind noise reduction system can reduce even the highest amount of wind noise so that speech can be heard. This is remarkable given that wind noise is physically turbulent, causing the microphones to vibrate. Wind noise has long been one of the main complaints of hearing aid wearers in New Zealand and is a big reason why many people have chosen not to wear their hearing aids outdoors. This specialized feature to combat wind noise is absolutely required for all patients who enjoy spending time outdoors for all sorts of leisure and recreational activities.

Mid-level Hearing Aid Technology

Patients who are suited to a mid-level technology hearing aid are generally those who are exposed to what could be considered every day or average ambient noise like:

  • Larger groups of family- and friend get-togethers,
  • Sports or active hobbies, and
  • Noisy restaurants.

This level of hearing aid technology typically has the ability to classify different sounds in the environment, changing programs automatically to make listening more comfortable and speech comprehension clearer. A lot of the features of this level of hearing aid technology functions automatically, making it very appealing from an ease-of-use perspective.

Standard-level Hearing Aid Technology

This level of technology is best for patients that are not in noisy situations very often, but who might participate in small group conversations with a little bit of ambient noise such as:

  • Small group meetings,
  • Family dinners, or
  • Less noisy restaurants and social engagements.

The Audiologist will often recommend creating extra/manual programs that could help you hear better in low levels of noise; however, you may need to make manual adjustments on the hearing aid itself (or via an app on your mobile phone) to access these extra settings.

Entry-level Hearing Aid Technology

This level of technology is tailored to patients who are not in complicated or varied listening environments and who have very basic hearing needs. 

Patients often only need help:

  • Hearing better in one-on-one situations in a quiet setting,
  • Hearing better on the phone,
  • Hearing the television better, or
  • Hearing the doorbell.

Patients suited to this level of technology, generally lead a quiet lifestyle. This level of technology is generally not recommended for patients who may find themselves in background noise, albeit in low levels.