The Synergy of Hearing Aids and AI

When someone mentions artificial intelligence (AI), it might conjure thoughts of your favorite sci-fi movie. But nowadays, AI is more science than fiction. This is especially true with regard to hearing aids. The times when hearing aids simply increased the volume and were one-size-fits-all are gone for good. AI is at the root of modern hearing aids.

Artificial intelligence – what exactly is it?

AI is a form of technology that utilizes sophisticated algorithms to produce new results from inputs of data. AI is capable of using an algorithm to take part in a type of learning called “machine learning”. As soon as the algorithm is working properly, there’s no need to “program” the AI to produce each individual result.

Depending on the extent of hearing loss, lifestyle, and habits, AI in hearing aids can make modifications depending on your routines and your requirements. This makes your hearing aid more successful at improving your hearing.

How can you hear better with AI?

At first, this may seem a little abstract. After all, hearing aids appear to have a fairly straightforward function. How can adding AI to the situation improve things? Well, picture a recording studio with the soundboard full of switches and dials. (You’ve probably seen them in movies.) There’s a tiny one of those inside of your hearing aid. Better sound quality can be attained by altering these settings. AI-powered hearing aids move these digital dials and switches automatically, improving the way you hear without any work on your part.

These smart devices use a deep neural network to imitate human brain responses. Because of this, these hearing aids react in real-time to conditions without being programmed to deal with them.

This may sound like futuristic science, but it’s the same fundamental technology that allows streaming services to recommend programming according to your viewing history. Newer cars use this technology to help you drive more safely and your email supplier utilizes it to auto-sort emails into your inbox. These devices become more proficient at making appropriate choices the more you use them.

AI hearing aids – new innovations

These days, hearing aids are integrating multiple brand new advances in AI to help you hear even better. Here are a few of the best examples:

• Edge mode: This is a user activated, AI assist mode. Basically, when you have a difficult time hearing, you can activate something known as Edge Mode. This then activates the AI algorithm and the algorithm will start working to make your hearing clearer.
• Helping you hear through facemasks: During the pandemic, everybody was masking up, which was good, but certainly made talking with a hearing aid more difficult. You can stay safer and hear better simultaneously as AI algorithms can amplify the voice behind the facemask.
• Noisy room filters: New AI algorithms can help to filter out room noise in a number of loud or echo-prone locations. Cross talk, for instance, can often be hard on a hearing aid. But with an AI filtering out non-essential information, you’ll be able to hear more clearly what the individual across from you is saying, even in a packed or noisy setting.
• Acoustic environment classification: Unique audio qualities come with each individual room you go into. Some of those properties are helpful for your hearing aids; some are bad for your hearing aids. You will hear better in nearly any setting with AI technology making practical automatic adjustments.

Hearing aid makers and scientists are continuously innovating new hearing aid technologies, so this may be just the tip of the iceberg.

How is AI employed in the field of audiology?

AI has become somewhat of a buzzword these days. Everybody’s heard it, which is good, but the difficulty is that AI does different things depending on the contexts. So when it comes to the field of audiology, how does AI integrate.

Making hearing aids even more beneficial for patients is one of the first and most evident things that researchers are working on. This research includes new technologies, including deep neural networks and machine learning. But it’s not just hearing aids. In the future, AI may be able to help with detecting hearing loss or even helping patients prevent future hearing loss.

Patients will see AI in more and more of their devices as the technology becomes more dependable.

The benefits of AI-assisted hearing aids

Unlike some other industries, AI is not being integrated into hearing aids simply because it’s the hot new fad. Some significant benefits to patients are provided by these machine learning algorithms. Here are a few of those benefits:

• Helping you listen to devices: Your hearing aid can get feedback from lots of devices, like televisions, cell phones, speaker phones, and a myriad of other devices. Machine learning algorithms can help filter out this feedback, so all you will hear is the sound you actually want to hear.
• Social engagement: When it comes to dealing with social interaction, individuals who utilize AI-assisted hearing aids tend to be more successful, according to some studies. The speech that they hear will be clearer in a wide array of settings, which probably accounts for better social interaction. With that being said, it’s not entirely clear that AI is the defining factor in keeping your social life healthy. It probably just helps people better preserve the relationships they already have.
• You have more control over how you hear: Many AI-assisted hearing devices give you the option to turn off those algorithms. So the quality of sound users hear will be more in their control. And this usually means a better all-around hearing experience.
• Health tracking and fall prevention: If you accidentally fall while you’re wearing your hearing aids, your AI-assisted devices might be able to detect the significance and seriousness of your tumble. In the event of a serious fall, these hearing aids can, in some cases, notify the Authorities. AI can also make your health information easier to understand, helping you know when you should be moving more, eating better, or just drinking more water.

How does this impact patients?

For individuals who use AI-assisted hearing aids these benefits frequently lead to real-world advantages. Imagine you were at a party having a discussion. If you were using an older-style hearing aid, it would just crank the volume up. And unfortunately, background noise also gets boosted making it difficult to hear voices. With AI, the hearing aid can listen to the noise around you and respond the way your brain would, dulling background noise and focusing on your friends’ voices.

AI learns to identify sounds and generates a location-by-location algorithm. If you go back to a specific location or sound profile, AI can initiate these algorithms. In order to better define and amplify important sounds, some AI hearing aids are programmed with everyday sounds.

Here are some other practical advantages to AI-assisted hearing aids:

• The cognitive burden will be decreased.
• You will have improved quality of life.
• You will feel less frustrated because you will be able to hear better.

You will be able to spend time with friends again, watch your favorite shows, and take good care of your brain, in other words.

Cost vs. reward

Because of the costs, AI wasn’t available in the majority of hearing aids until recent times. An algorithm is, after all, an intricate math equation. But prices are coming down, partly due to the prevalence of the technology.

That isn’t saying that those hearing aids will absolutely come down in price soon and you still might wind up choosing a model that doesn’t include AI functionality. Clearly, patients will still have to make important choices. However, it does mean that these AI-assisted features are becoming more prevalent and more readily available.

Deciding what’s best for you

Hearing aids with AI may be too much for someone who lives by themselves and stays home a lot. To someone who is socially involved and finds themselves in situations with lots of competing sounds, however, it makes a big difference.

Hearing aids with AI are also practical for someone who is rapidly worn out in social scenarios where the task of keeping up with conversations using a traditional hearing aid is exhausting. Social situations are simpler and the user will feel less exhausted with AI hearing aids. AI technology can also send alerts to your phone when the doorbell rings, alert others that you have fallen, and track your steps. Hearing aids will keep improving as AI technology improves.

How can AI technology help you? Make an appointment with us right away.