Smokey Mountain Audiology & Hearing Aids in Sevierville, TN

What Are Hearing Aids?

Hearing aids are amplifiers that are worn in the ear. They use a microphone to pick up sound waves from the environment and use varying methods to amplify the waves in order for you to better hear them.

What to Expect

At Smokey Mountain Audiology & Hearing Aids, it is important that you have realistic expectations of the benefits and limitations of hearing aids. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Hearing aids are designed to improve your ability to communicate; they cannot restore your natural ability to hear nor do they prevent further deterioration of your hearing ability.
Although the wide variety of hearing aids gives you flexibility when it comes to choosing a device, not all devices are appropriate for all types of hearing loss.
Getting accustomed to hearing aids and the amplified sound they provide takes time.
Hearing aids require daily maintenance.
Although hearing aid devices are durable, they are constructed of parts that may eventually have to be replaced.

Hearing Aid Technology

There is a wide variety of hearing aids available, but the technology they use will be either analog or digital.

Analog hearing aids are straightforward devices that use a microphone to obtain sound waves and transform them into electrical energy, an amplifier to increase the power of the energy, and a receiver to change the energy into acoustic sounds. They have been used for many years but usually do not offer the features of digital hearing aids.

Digital hearing aids convert the sound waves they collect into digital signals, which are processed by a computer chip in the device and converted into acoustic sound. They offer a number of features such as:

Directional microphones
Remote control operation
Reduction of digital noise

The ability to shift frequencies
Wireless and Bluetooth capability

Otoscope and Hearing Aid — Smokey Mountain Audiology & Hearing Aids in Sevierville, TN