Years ago, before there were Made for iPhone hearing aids, I kidded that one day our professional jobs would be taken over by our smartphones. I was kidding, but little did I realize the role that technology would assume in helping us with our amplification.
The Hearing Center audiologist Chris Herget explains, "Yesterday’s hearing aids needed constant tweaking and handling from professional clinicians, to make everyday noises sound natural. Today’s hearing aids are the opposite. Most modern hearing aids do the adjustments automatically based on your environment (reducing distracting noise around you to help you speech better, decrease wind noise while outside), and allow you to even make adjustments on the fly with a smartphone. Imagine yourself listening to your loved ones at a loud party but can’t quite make out what they are saying. In an instant, you can make the noise around you quieter and hear your family more clearly. This is not to say that professional clinicians don’t need to set the default settings and monitor your hearing but today’s hearing aids definitely are patient focused. From smartphone apps, to automatic settings, to noise reduction and environmental identification, modern hearing aids are the future of hearing healthcare."
Every hearing aid manufacturer is now offering an array of apps - some apps allow the listener to enhance the listening experience by working directly with the hearing aids. For example Audibel's Trulink app answers calls and streams phone calls and music directly through your hearing aids. You can personalize and geotag hearing aid settings to best suit your environment. You can control volume and memory settings with your iPhone. You can have as much or as little control as you like.
Other apps have specific functions, such as the Relax app for tinnitus management. The listener may browse among a selection of "relief" sounds and select the most helpful for his individual preferences, and then stream the sounds to his wireless hearing aids. We have learned that tinnitus is best managed by a comprehensive program of tinnitus education and sound therapy.
McGuire's hearing aid dispenser Michael Burke has a patient who has used hearing aids with tinnitus masking for many years, but found that these instruments allowed little control over the tinnitus stimulus available to him. But with his latest hearing aids and Relax app, he has blossomed into a "techie" and through the app he now decides whether he wants a (virtual) walk through the woods, along a sandy beach, or to sit and listen to birdsong all through the magic of his Relax iPhone app!
Another type of app is the listening exercise exemplified by Hear Coach or LACE. These programs allow the user to train their listening systems (ear to brain) to practice discerning speech in a variety of challenging listening environments. As we tell our patients, better hearing is not just about making things louder, but also about filtering the sounds that we don't need and home in in on the ones with the information we want. These games may be thought of as Physical Therapy for the ears!
