Listening to your favorite jams can lift your mood, increase your productivity and add entertainment to your next lengthy road trip. Music is a constant presence in our lives, with one 2023 report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry finding that people spend an average of 20.7 hours listening to music each week.
One major concern amongst the 15% of U.S. adults living with hearing loss is that their condition will prevent them from enjoying the music they love. That’s where hearing aids with music programs can help.
How Do Hearing Aids Work?
Hearing aids are small, technologically advanced devices that help those with hearing loss communicate with the world around them. All hearing aids have three basic components–a microphone that collects sound in your environment, an amplifier that raises its volume and a speaker that sends it directly into the ear canal. Modern hearing aids also employ a technology that processes sound according to the wearer’s specific frequency needs. This process may include things like amplifying higher frequencies, like children’s voices or birds chirping in Ridgeview Park, or suppressing irrelevant noise to improve clarity.
How Do Hearing Aids Affect the Music Listening Experience?
Hearing aids are primarily designed to improve speech-in-noise understanding. Because music lives on a larger frequency range than speaking, hearing aids have not always been equipped to process it accurately—leading to distortion.
In response to concerns from hearing aid wearers regarding distorted music, many manufacturers created programs designed to suppress the features contributing to distortion. These features may include:
- Wide dynamic range compression
- Directional microphones
- Frequency lowering
- Feedback suppression
- Transient sound reduction
Although music programs are considered proprietary information for many manufacturers, and research for better listening is still in progress, avid music lovers may want to consider discussing device options with a hearing aid specialist. They can help you find the technology that best suits your music-loving needs without compromising speech quality.
Hearing loss doesn’t need to mean you sacrifice your favorite tunes. Whether you prefer pop, rock, country, rap, indie or a mix of every genre, our specialists are here to help you enjoy the music you love. Contact Advanced Hearing today to discuss hearing aid options with one of our experts.