What is the different between a digital hearing aid and analogue aid? Analogue devices make use of a microphone. It picks up sound from outside the ear. Before the sound is sent to a receiver in the ear it is improved. Simply put, the analogue hearing aid ‘turns the volume up’. The digital hearing aid is a more recent and complex technology. A microchip examines sounds that are picked up on the outside of the ear. It evaluates sound and then sends it on to the receiver inside the ear. This is progressive technology and has greater options. Settings are personalized to suit the user.

What consumers want to know is whether the digital aid is the better device. Sound enters the digital and analogue hearing aids the same way. The sound waves do not change when the unit sends them to the receiver. The real advantages of the digital aid over the analogue model are brought about by the way it processes signals.

The analogue hearing aid does have disadvantages. It only has two choices for the user and they are volume up or volume down. If you find yourself in a noisy environment you can turn the noise down. But this means that all sounds are turned down even the ones you do want to be aware of. This may not be what you want or need. Programmable hearing aids are accessible. You can change the settings according to the environment. But they are still limited when compared to the options of the digital device.

The microchip in the digital aid can reduce noise by finding unwanted frequencies in order to eliminate them. This is a very definite improvement on the analogue aid. The digital and the programmable analogue aid use ‘directional microphones’. But the combination of the microchip and the DSP (digital sound processing) is what make it a better aid. The DSP detects relevant frequency levels and allows the microphones to decide on the correct capacity for sound signals. Therefore, microphones work a lot better and exclusively for the user. The microchip also allows more settings to be used if the user requires it. Your audiologist can decide on the frequencies to be eliminated and which should remain.

Digital hearing aids can make their own sounds. Analogue aids cannot do this. Once again it is your audiologist who is the best person to adjust the device. This way you will be sure the adjustments are exactly what you need. Due to this the digital hearing aid gives a precise account of sounds and also improves on the quality. As always, you must see your audiologist before any decision is made. Analogue aids are being used less and less. But the analogue aids are still a lot cheaper than digital aids.