AI and Hearing Aids – the Synergy

When somebody mentions artificial intelligence (AI), it may arouse thoughts of your favorite sci-fi movie. But these days, AI is more science than fiction. This is especially true with regard to hearing aids. The times when hearing aids merely increased the volume and were one-size-fits-all are gone for good. Modern, high-end hearing aids use AI.

What is artificial intelligence?

AI is a sophisticated computer algorithm that utilizes data inputs to produce new results. In this way, AI algorithms take part in a kind of learning, aptly called “machine learning”. With AI the user doesn’t have to program every specific result because the algorithm does that by itself.

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

How can AI help hearing aids work better?

This might feel a little abstract initially. Hearing aids do seem to have a basic function, after all. How can adding AI to the situation improve things? Well, you know that row of big dials and switches that people utilize to mix music in recording studios? (Maybe you’ve seen them in movies.) There’s a little tiny one of those inside of your hearing aid. Adjusting these settings can produce better quality sound. AI-powered hearing aids change these digital dials and switches automatically, enhancing the way you hear without any hassle on your part.

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

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

New advancements in AI hearing aids

These days, hearing aids are integrating multiple brand new improvements in AI to help you hear even better. Some of the most relevant instances include the following:

• Noisy room filters: If you’re in a location that has a lot of echoes, or is excessively loud, new AI technology algorithms can filter out room noise. A hearing aid can have a difficult time with cross-talk, for example. But even in a loud environment, you’ll be capable of hearing more clearly what the person across from you is talking about as AI filters out unwanted information.
• Edge mode: This is a user activated, AI assist mode. In essence, when you have a difficult time hearing, you can activate something known as Edge Mode. When this is initiated AI will start working on cleaning up what you’re hearing.
• Helping you hear through facemasks: Conversations were certainly tougher during the pandemic when everybody was wearing a facemask. You can remain safer and hear better simultaneously as AI algorithms can amplify the voice beneath the facemask.
• Acoustic environment classification: Every room you go into has its own distinct acoustic properties. Some of those qualities are helpful for your hearing aids; some are negative for your hearing aids. You will hear better in nearly any environment with AI technology making practical automatic adjustments.

This is likely only the start of the developments scientists and manufacturers are making.

AI for the discipline of audiology

AI has become somewhat of a buzzword these days. Depending on the application, AI does different things, which can in some cases lead to confusion. So, what does AI mean for the discipline of audiology?

First, it means that scientists are looking for ways to make hearing aids even more beneficial to patients. New technologies, including machine learning and deep neural networks, are included in this research. But it’s not just hearing aids. In the future, AI might be able to help with diagnosing hearing loss or even helping patients avoid future hearing loss.

As the technology develops and becomes more reliable, patients can expect to find artificial intelligence in more of their devices.

The benefits of AI-assisted hearing aids

Unlike some other industries, AI isn’t being incorporated into hearing aids just because it’s the popular new thing. These machine learning algorithms offer some significant advantages to patients. Here are a few of those benefits:

• Social engagement: Studies have revealed that those who wear AI-assisted hearing aids are more successful when it comes to managing their social engagement. This is likely because the speech they hear is clearer in a larger number of settings. That said, it’s not completely clear that AI is the deciding factor in keeping your social life healthy. Most likely, it simply helps people who are already social better manage their relationships.
• Helping you listen to devices: Your hearing aid can get feedback from a wide variety 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.
• You have more control over how you hear: Many AI-assisted hearing aids give you the option to turn those algorithms on or off. This means hearing aid users will have more control over the clarity of sound they hear. And this often means hearing better more often.
• Health tracking and fall prevention: When you’re wearing a hearing aid and you take a fall, your AI-assisted device can determine the seriousness of your fall. If there is a serious fall, these hearing aids can, in some situations, alert the Authorities. AI can also make your health information easier to understand, helping you know when you should be exercising more, eating healthier, or just drinking more water.

What this means for patients

For individuals with AI-assisted hearing aids these benefits frequently translate into real-world advantages. Imagine you are having a conversation at a party. If you were using an older-style hearing aid, it would just boost the volume up. And unfortunately, background noise also gets boosted making it difficult to hear voices. An AI hearing aid is intelligent and will be capable of identifying and boosting a person’s voice while lowering undesired noise.

AI learns to recognize sounds and generates a location-by-location program. These programs help when you go back to a specific location or sound profile. In order to better identify and amplify important sounds, some AI hearing aids are programmed with day-to-day sounds.

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

• You won’t be aggravated because you can’t hear (at least, not as often).
• The cognitive burden will be decreased.
• Your quality of life will improve.

In other words, it’ll be simpler to hear your favorite shows, hang out with your favorite people, and take care of your favorite brain.

Cost vs. reward

Because of the costs, AI wasn’t offered in most hearing aids until recently. After all, the device itself has to perform some extreme calculations (an algorithm, after all, is essentially a very elegant math problem). However, in part because of the preponderance of the technology, prices for AI hearing devices are starting to go down.

That isn’t saying that those hearing aids will absolutely come down in price soon and you still may wind up choosing a model that doesn’t have AI functionality. Obviously, the decision making is in the hands of the patient. But, it does mean that these AI-assisted features are becoming more common and more readily available.

Finding out what choice is best for you

For someone who lives alone and doesn’t go out much, hearing aids with AI might not be worth the additional cost. But AI makes a big difference for people who are socially involved and go out into noisy situations a lot.

For someone who uses traditional hearing aids and still gets exhausted easily in social scenarios, AI hearing aids would be very helpful. Social situations are easier and the user will feel less tired 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.