Analog audio/Adjustable control: The audio circuit is analog with electronic components that can be adjusted. The hearing professional determines the gain and other specifications required for the wearer, and then adjusts the analog components either with small controls on the hearing aid itself or by having a laboratory build the hearing aid to meet those specifications. After the adjustment the resulting the audio does not change any further, other than overall loudness that the wearer adjusts with a volume control. This type of circuitry is generally the least flexible. The first practical electronic hearing aid with adjustable analog audio circuitry was based on US Patent 2,017,358, "Hearing Aid Apparatus and Amplifier" by Samual Gordon Taylor, filed in 1932.
· Analog audio/Programmable control: The audio circuit is analog but with additional electronic control circuitry that can be programmed, sometimes with more than one program. The electronic control circuitry can be fixed during manufacturing or in some cases, the hearing professional can use an external computer temporarily connected to the hearing aid to program the additional control circuitry. The wearer can change the program for different listening environments by pressing buttons either on the device itself or on a remote control or in some cases the additional control circuitry operates automatically. This type of circuitry is generally more flexible than simple adjustable controls. The first hearing aid with analog audio circuitry and automatic digital electronic control circuitry was based on US Patent 4,025,721, "Method of and means for adaptively filtering near-stationary noise from speech" by D Graupe, GD Causey, filed in 1975. This digital electronic control circuitry was used to identify and automatically reduce noise in individual frequency channels of the analog audio circuits and was known as the Zeta Noise Blocker.
· Digital audio/Programmable control: Both the audio circuit and the additional control circuits are fully digital. The hearing professional programs the hearing aid with an external computer temporarily connected to the device and can adjust all processing characteristics on an individual basis. Fully digital circuitry allows implementation of many additional features not possible with analog circuitry, can be used in all styles of hearing aids and is the most flexible. Fully digital Hearing aids can be programmed with multiple programs that can be invoked by the wearer, or that operate automatically and adaptively. These programs reduce acoustic feedback (whistling), reduce background noise, detect and automatically accommodate different listening environments (loud vs soft, speech vs music, quiet vs noisy, etc.), control additional components such as multiple microphones to improve spatial hearing, transpose frequencies (shift high frequencies that a wearer may not hear to lower frequency regions where hearing may be better), and implement many other features. Fully digital circuitry also allows control over wireless transmission capability for both the audio and the control circuitry. Control signals in a hearing aid on one ear can be sent wirelessly to the control circuitry in the hearing aid on the opposite ear to ensure that the audio in both ears is either matched directly or that the audio contains intentional differences that mimic the differences in normal binaural hearing to preserve spatial hearing ability. Audio signals can be sent wirelessly to and from external devices through a separate module, often a small device worn like a pendant and commonly called a “streamer”, that allows wireless connection to yet other external devices. This capability allows optimal use of mobile telephones, personal music players, remote microphones and other devices. With the addition of speech recognition and internet capability in the mobile phone, the wearer has optimal communication ability in many more situations than with hearing aids alone. This growing list includes voice activated dialing, voice activated software applications either on the phone or on the internet, receipt of audio signals from databases on the phone or on internet, or audio signals from television sets or from global positioning systems. The first practical, wearable, fully digital hearing aid was invented by Maynard Engebretson, Robert E Morley, Jr. and Gerald R Popelka.Their work resulted in US Patent 4,548,082, "Hearing aids, signal supplying apparatus, systems for compensating hearing deficiencies, and methods" by A Maynard Engebretson, Robert E Morley, Jr. and Gerald R Popelka, filed in 1984. This patent formed the basis of all subsequent fully digital Hearing aids from all manufacturers, including those produced currently.
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