Buying mailorder Aids

[ed121]

Basically Hearing Aids are small amplifiers with old well known sound modifier circuits. I think the patents have long ago expired. What is new is just marketing hype.

Yes, the newer aids slightly outperform the 20 year old models....due to better firmware and slightly improved chips from the huge chip makers and transducer makers.

Challenge: Name one really new but basic improvement.

OK the only one I can think of is the trend to in the canal transducers. IMO Ed

[Cosmo]

Originally Posted by ed121

Basically Hearing Aids are small amplifiers with old well known sound modifier circuits. I think the patents have long ago expired. What is new is just marketing hype.

Yes, the newer aids slightly outperform the 20 year old models....due to better firmware and slightly improved chips from the huge chip makers and transducer makers.

Challenge: Name one really new but basic improvement.

OK the only one I can think of is the trend to in the canal transducers. IMO Ed

Frequency Lowering , Noise Management, Automatic Telephone to name 3.

[elijahlovejoy]

Originally Posted by Cosmo

Frequency Lowering , Noise Management, Automatic Telephone to name 3.

Interesting point of view, Ed. Thank you for posting it.

elijah

[elijahlovejoy]

I got the Loyds body aid, and it is fine. A lot of value for $200.

Not enough power for my very bad, surgically altered Left ear, but does a nice job on my better right ear.

Reading their paperwork, you get the impression that this is an old school, customer friendly business which really cares.

I'd be tempted to buy one of their BTE aids if my circumstances were less privileged. As it is, my good insurance will buy me any Costco aid, and that's the way I'm probably going to go. In 2013. The insurance works once every three years.

[ed121]

Cosmo: All are old ideas used by telephone companies back in the early 1930's to improve long distance telephone communications.

Patents Smattens. Beware of patent claims to be truly useful stuff. I could get a patent on a pencil. Yes, on a pencil with auxillary gasoline motor driven glide assistance. A patent requires just that it be new and have any repeat any useful, no matter how far fetched, application. Ed

[Cosmo]

Ed, I listen to hearing aids all day. I do not have a hearing loss, so I know it sounds different to the user. But I can tell the differences between a Class A amplifier, a Digital hearing aid, a 4 channel device, a 16 channel device, basic noise control, advanced noise control and so on. I have patients that wear all of them and they all help. But they are not the same.

[ed121]

Cosmo... Wow. Back in the days when I had excellent natural hearing( long time ago), I was hard pressed to tell the difference between top of the line McIntosh amplifiers and low cost Bogen amps. Different but only slightly. You are truly unique. Ed

[zafdor]

Originally Posted by ed121

All are old ideas used by telephone companies back in the early 1930's to improve long distance telephone communications.

It's not often I disagree with you ed, but we disagree here. Yah, there are some facets of instruments that use basic tried and true ideas, but the algorithms executed in a modern digital instrument go far beyond that and for many people do help them hear better.

[Um bongo]

Originally Posted by ed121

Basically Hearing Aids are small amplifiers with old well known sound modifier circuits. I think the patents have long ago expired. What is new is just marketing hype.

Yes, the newer aids slightly outperform the 20 year old models....due to better firmware and slightly improved chips from the huge chip makers and transducer makers.

Challenge: Name one really new but basic improvement.

OK the only one I can think of is the trend to in the canal transducers. IMO Ed

Real-time bilateral synchronization of the mic array, directional variation by channel, speech recognition and enhancement, FFT noise management, variable attack and release times, variable compression strategies, proper output limiting compression, artificial intelligence, learning circuits, multi-modal autoselecting destination logic, open canal acoustic damping, multiple feedback control strategies, ferro-fluid damped receivers, can-in-can receivers, transducer mass reduction, direct class-D receivers, bluetooth connectivity, remote controls etc.....

You have no idea of the amount of time that goes into trying to solve these problems, with 1.0V and micro-amps of current.

On the UK pound coin there is a quote around the rim which is attributed to Newton: 'Standing on the shoulders' of giants' - don't forget that many of the benefits you see today have been achieved through the hard work of some quite eminent people.

[ed121]

UM:

I think you are right in one sense, I think. Old ideas newly adopted to low energy hearing aids. I respect your opinion. Ed