What is a hearing aid?

Hearing aids

• use a microphone to pick up sounds

• make the sounds louder

• send them into the ear

Most hearing aids send the sound into the ear canal.

Some hearing aids send the sound into the bone behind the ear.

Cochlear implants send the sound to an electrode inside the cochlea.

A hearing aid does not 'correct' hearing

Hearing aids may make sounds loud enough for a 'deaf' person to hear them.  The sounds may not be clear.

Hearing aids make all sounds louder not only speech.  This means it is difficult to hear the speech or to know where the sound is coming from.  Noisy/busy places and groups of people can be very difficult.

Remember many deaf people need to lip-read even with a hearing aid.  

Next - Which hearing aid?

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