Separating Out The Noise

While the brains of people with normal hearing are able to filter out background noise and focus on speech and other important sounds, those of individuals with impaired hearing have problems separating speech from noise. Fortunately, there is an effective way to address this problem with a feature in hearing instruments called “directionality,” which provides the best performance in noisy situations.

Directional systems vary from one manufacturer to another, but all have two or more microphones separated by a specific distance on a hearing instrument. By differentiating between the arrival time of sound to each of these microphones, the hearing instrument can filter out unwanted noise and focus on amplifying the sound in front of the listener.

The first line of defense in addressing any hearing impairment includes complete hearing testing by a clinical audiologist to determine the type and degree of your particular loss. This is the only way The Ear Clinic can help you choose the most appropriate hearing instrument for your impairment. And while your impairment is unique to you, the impact of hearing loss is similar among most people—diminished communication and loss of quality of life. Don’t put up with it. Call us instead at 46 Nelson Street W., across from the LCBO (226-909-0966), to schedule a complimentary hearing evaluation.

P.S. While a “simple adaptive directional array” has directional microphones that switch between fixed points, a “fully adaptive directional microphone array” creates a map of the type and location of sound in the patient’s surrounding environment.