AI and Hearing Aids – the Synergy

You may think of your favorite sci-fi movie when someone mentions artificial intelligence (AI). But nowadays, AI is more science than fiction. This is particularly true when it comes to hearing aids. The days when hearing aids simply boosted the volume and were one-size-fits-all are gone forever. Modern-day, high-end hearing aids utilize AI.

What is artificial intelligence?

AI is a complex computer algorithm that uses data inputs to produce new results. In doing this, AI algorithms take part in a type of learning, appropriately 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 changes depending on your behaviors and your requirements. Your hearing aids will be more effective at improving your ability to hear because of this.

How can you hear better with AI?

This may feel a little abstract at first. Hearing aids do seem to have a basic function, after all. How can things be enhanced by adding AI to the mix? Well, you know that row of big dials and switches that people use to mix music in recording studios? (Maybe you’ve seen them in movies.) Your hearing aid contains one of those! (It’s minuscule.) Better audio quality can be attained by modifying these settings. 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 deep neural network to emulate human brain responses. Because of this, these hearing aids react in real-time to conditions without being programmed to do so.

This might sound like futuristic science, but it’s the same fundamental technology that allows streaming services to suggest programming based on 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 correct decisions the more you use them.

AI hearing aids – new innovations

Hearing aids these days are helping you hear even better with new developments in AI technology. Some of the best examples include the following:

• Edge mode: This is a user initiated, AI assist mode. In essence, when you have a hard time hearing, you can activate something known as Edge Mode. When this is triggered AI will begin working on clearing up what you’re hearing.
• Helping you hear through facemasks: During the pandemic, everyone was wearing masks, which was good, but certainly made talking with a hearing aid more challenging. You can stay safer and hear better at the same time as AI algorithms can amplify the voice beneath the facemask.
• Noisy room filters: New AI algorithms can help to filter out room noise in a variety of loud or echo-prone settings. A hearing aid can have a hard time with cross-talk, for instance. But even in a loud environment, you’ll be capable of hearing more clearly what the individual across from you is talking about as AI filters out unwanted information.
• Acoustic environment classification: Every room you go into has its own distinct acoustic properties. Some of those properties are good for your hearing aids; some are negative for your hearing aids. You will hear better in almost any environment with AI technology making practical automatic adjustments.

This is probably only the beginning of the developments scientists and manufacturers are making.

AI for the discipline 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 in terms of the field of audiology, how does AI fit in.

Making hearing aids even more beneficial for patients is one of the first and most obvious things that researchers are tackling. New technologies, like machine learning and deep neural networks, are a big part of this research. But it isn’t just hearing aids. In the future, AI may be able to help with diagnosing hearing loss or even helping patients prevent future hearing loss.

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

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 thing. These machine learning algorithms provide some considerable advantages to patients. Among those benefits are the following:

• Health tracking and fall prevention: When you’re wearing a hearing aid and you take a tumble, your AI-assisted device can detect the severity of your fall. In some cases, these hearing aids might be programmed to automatically alert authorities or loved ones in the event of a severe fall. 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.
• You have more control over how you hear: Many AI-assisted hearing devices 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 normally means a better overall hearing experience.
• Social engagement: Studies have found that those who use AI-assisted hearing aids are more successful with regard to managing their social involvement. The speech that they hear will be clearer in a wide array of settings, which likely accounts for better social interaction. That said, it’s not completely clear that AI is the defining factor in keeping your social life afloat. It probably just helps people better preserve the relationships they already have.
• Helping you listen to devices: Microphones from cell phones, speaker phones, televisions, and other myriad devices can cause your hearing aids to feedback. Machine learning algorithms can help filter out this feedback, so all you will hear is the sound you actually want to hear.

How does this affect patients?

These benefits often translate into real-world advantages for people with these AI-assisted hearing aids. Imagine you were at a party having a conversation. An older hearing aid would make everything louder. 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 unwanted noise.

AI learns to identify sounds and creates a location-by-location algorithm. If you return to a specific location or sound profile, AI can activate these programs. In order to better define 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 frustrated because you can’t hear (at least, not as often).
• Your brain will experience a decreased cognitive burden.
• You will have improved quality of life.

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

Reward vs. cost

There was a time when AI was not offered in most hearing aids owing to the costs involved. After all, the device itself has to do some intense calculations (an algorithm, of course, is essentially a very elegant math problem). But prices are decreasing, partially due to the prevalence of the technology.

That’s not saying that those hearing aids will absolutely come down in price soon and you still may end up wanting a model that doesn’t include AI capabilities. Obviously, patients will still need to make important choices. But AI features are becoming more readily available and prevalent.

Deciding what’s best for you

For somebody who lives alone and doesn’t go out much, hearing aids with AI may not be worth the additional cost. To someone who is socially active and finds themselves in scenarios with lots of competing sounds, however, it makes a huge difference.

Hearing aids with AI are also useful for someone who is rapidly worn out in social situations where the task of keeping up with conversations utilizing a traditional hearing aid is fatiguing. AI-powered hearing aids decrease the listener’s exhaustion and make social situations more enjoyable. When the doorbell rings, or when you have a fall AI technology can alert you or a loved one and it can even track your steps. As technology and AI develop, hearing aids will continue to too.

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