An extra pair of ears – accessories for your hearing aids

Hearing aid technology

Hearing aids today are incredible pieces of technology; they automatically detect our listening environment and adapt so we can hear as well as possible.

If you already wear hearing aids you may have additional settings, an app to control them with and much more.

But what happens when the listening environment proves too much even for the best hearing aids on the market? This is where hearing aid accessories step in and can make a huge difference.

What are hearing aid accessories?

A hearing aid accessory is an additional device that connects to your hearing aids wirelessly. Usually each device has a specific function, for example, a TV Connector for streaming the sound of the TV directly to your hearings aids. Or it could be a clip-on microphone that you can give to someone delivering a speech or presentation.

Why would I need something like this?

As amazing as modern hearing aid technology is, there are some situations that can still be a challenge. These tend to be:

• Distance
• Multiple people speaking
• Very loud environments
• Classroom/ meeting environments

By using an additional accessory, you are giving a boost to your hearing aids performance when you need it most.

Product spotlight

One range of products that I have particularly enjoyed using is the Roger technology from Phonak. Designed to be discreet, these products can be used in many different situations to overcome the challenges that I mentioned above. In particular, they:

• Continually monitor the background noise ensuring that speakers voices are always kept above background noise level
• Have highly sensitive microphones which can automatically zone in on individual speakers or group scenarios such as dinners and meetings
• Can be networked together to create a much larger scope for listening, for example in a boardroom setting
• Can be connected to other multimedia such as TV or phone for streaming
• Work so well in noise that you can hear better than people with no hearing loss
• Can be used with any hearing aid manufacturer and need no additional equipment if using recent Phonak aids

There are a number of different Roger products available, some are designed for personal use and some are better suited to the work environment. Whatever your need, there will be something out there that can help in those extra-challenging situations.

What can we do in clinic?

In my clinic I am always keen to let my patients try out this great technology as much as possible.

We can even simulate noisy environments while using different technology to find out what works best for you. If you have an important meeting coming up, we can look at what listening challenges might come up and find the right product to support you.

These accessories are designed to go above and beyond what your hearing aids already do; often an additional microphone for your golf buddy or dinner companion can make the difference between great and exceptional hearing.

To find out more about Roger in particular you can take a look at this link:

https://www.phonak.com/uk/en/hearing-aids/accessories/roger.html

Otherwise please do get in touch with me via phone, email or the website and I’d be delighted to introduce you to some of this incredible technology.

See you soon,

Peter