DIGITAL HEARING AID:

Overview
An electronic hearing aid is a small device placed in or around the ear to improve the hearing of
those with hearing loss. The basic components of a hearing aid are a microphone, signal
conditioning, a receiver also known as a speaker, and a battery. The microphone converts the
sound into an electric signal. The signal then undergoes conditioning that can be as simple as
amplifying all of the sound equally, to more advanced equalization involving a digital signal
processor. The receiver converts the electronic signal back to sound, and the battery powers the
electronics.

Major components of Digital Hearing Aid:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Microphone
Amplifier
Receiver
Battery
Microprocessor

Types of DHA:
There can be different types of hearing aid depending on the case shape:

Behind-the-ear (BTE) aids;

Mini BTE aids;

In-the-ear (ITE) aids;

In-the-canal (ITC) aids;

Implanted aids;

Analog vs Digital Hearing Aids :

Analogue hearing aids amplify (makes louder) all the sounds picked up by the microphone. For
example, speech and ambient noise will be amplified together. On the other hand, DHA processes
the sound using digital technology. Before transmitting the sound to the speaker, the DHA
microprocessor processes the digital signal received by the microphone according to the complex
mathematical algorithm. This allows amplifying the sounds of certain frequency according to the
individual user settings (personal audiogram), and automatically adjusting the work of DHA to
various environments (noisy streets, quiet room, concert hall, etc.)

Advantages of analog hearing aids:

Generally cost less than digital hearing aids

Are sometimes more powerful than digital hearing aids
Long time hearing aid users sometimes prefer analog over digital

Advantages of digital hearing aids:

Can be programmed with noise reduction algorithms to help reduce

background noise
Highly programmable for various listening environments
Most flexible and adjustable for specific user needs

Challenges :

Increase bandwidth
Reduce noise
Reduce power consumption (increase battery life)

AGC IN AHA :
Analogue hearing aids, which are not often used now, will pick up the sound,
translate it into an electrical signal, amplify it, and then feed it into the ear.
Some analogue hearing aids can detect whether sounds are loud or quiet and
therefore whether they need to be amplifyed or not. This means that they will
recognise that loud sounds, such as traffic, do not need further amplification. This
feature is known as "automatic gain control".
A digital hearing aid, on the other hand, is much more advanced than an analogue aid. It contains a silicon chip
comprising millions of electrical components that continuously process incoming sound, convert it into clearer and
more audible sounds and then release these at the appropriate sound level into the ear. Its sophistication allows it to
distinguish between sounds that need to be amplified and unwanted noise that needs to be reduced. This
differentiation allows wearers to distinguish similar sounding speech sounds much more clearly

Power and Battery Management

Some hearing aids are beginning to use rechargeable single-cell lithium-ion (Li+) batteries, but
most hearing aids are still powered by primary zinc-air batteries. There are five main sizes of
zinc-air batteries used, depending on the hearing aid style or size, the power consumption of the
circuitry, and the battery-life requirements
Zinc-air batteries start at 1.4V and are used down to about 1.0V or lower before requiring
replacement. When used for 16 hours per day, battery life ranges from a couple of days to a few
weeks, depending on the battery capacity and hearing aid design. The most power-efficient
design runs directly off of a single battery, but a switching regulator can be used to boost the

voltage to fit design needs, whether 1.8V or 3.0V. The power dissipation is targeted to be 1mW
to 10mW when running off of zinc-air batteries.
Automatic gain control (AGC) is a volume control feature found in most modern hearing
aids. The goal of amplification is to make soft sounds audible, moderate sounds comfortable
and clear, and loud sounds tolerable