Hearing aids contain five components – microphones, an amplifier, a loudspeaker, a battery and a computer chip. Although all hearing aid models have these components, there is a significant difference in the quality of the sound and speech understanding you will get from different models. Higher quality hearing aids will provide a more natural listening experience because of the more advanced technology and extra features they contain, such as bandwidth, automatic volume regulation, noise management, feedback suppression and various personalisation options. Newer models contain the most advanced technology.

This is how each part of a hearing aid assists in delivering sound to you.

• The microphone picks up the sounds around you.
• The computer chip, which is programmed by your practitioner to suit your specific hearing needs, analyses and processes the sounds captured by the microphone.
• These analysed sounds are then sent to the amplifier.
• Sounds are received by the amplifier and sent to the loudspeaker.
• The loudspeaker transmits the sounds to the inner ear via the ear mould tubing on your hearing aid or the small wire and receiver in your ear.
• Sounds are converted to electrical impulses inside your inner ear.
• The electrical impulses are picked up and processed by your brain, allowing you to understand the sounds.