For family gatherings where everyone understands each other!
Having a conversation in a noisy setting is enemy number one for people with hearing loss.
Have you ever been at a family gathering or gone to a restaurant in a group, but had difficulty understanding the people you were talking to because of the ambient noise? You are not alone!
Sound lost amidst the hubbub
Most cases of hearing loss involve a greater loss of higher frequencies (higher pitched) than of lower frequencies (lower pitched). However, the higher frequencies include many important speech sounds that help us understand what’s being said .
So, in our restaurant example, the hubbub and ambient noise in the room obscures the subtle sound coming from the person speaking to you.
Effects on cognitive and mental health
Not understanding conversation in a noisy environment causes cognitive fatigue as the brain exerts more effort to try to decipher speech. It might also lead to the embarrassing situation of having to keep asking people to repeat what was said.
This can turn a pleasant social outing into a source of frustration.
Surprising technological advances for hearing aids
Luckily, hearing aid technology has been rapidly advancing, constantly improving comfort and sound quality, especially in noisy places.
Now that hearing aids can include directional microphones and an extremely powerful electronic chip, they’re much more likely to distinguish between the background noise and speech in your sound environment.
Their main goal is to increase your “signal-to-noise ratio”, meaning they increase the sound level of speech and decrease the level of ambient noise.
This top-notch processing helps you understand conversations better in any context.
Hearing aids that improve your social life
With all the new technologies in today’s hearing aids, going out in public will be a whole lot easier.
Choosing hearing aids that meet your particular needs will improve your social outings immensely.
You’ll want to get back to having fun with family and friends, and will again be an active participant in conversations!
Feel free to consult an audioprosthetist to discuss which hearing aids would be best for you!
If you have questions about your hearing or that of a loved one, our hearing health professionals will be happy to answer them.
BY Marilyn Beauregard, Audioprosthetist, Groupe Forget
