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I don't agree and I think the original article severely underestimated top-end hearing aid technology. Newer hearing aids from top manufacturers like GN, Oticon

I don't agree and I think the original article severely underestimated top-end hearing aid technology. Newer hearing aids from top manufacturers like GN, Oticon and Phonak do a very good job of isolating a particular voice in noise - sure its still far from perfect but it light-years ahead of "making all things louder". I have no doubt the suggested brain-powered hearing aids will be much better but models like Oticon's OPN have smart directionality and localisation features for picking out specifics in noise. Most models also allow you to control the direction of sound enhancement to improve things further - by default most will use a 360 degree, or at least 270 degree field of listening but with an app you can change them to have a very narrow field and target specifically the person directly in front of you. I have a severe hearing loss and wear GN ReSound LiNX Quattro in both ears, without them I cannot hear anything useful, i.e. I hear no voice even when someone is directly in front of me and no background noise. With them I can hold a conversation in a fairly noisy pub, its hard work to listen in noise but they do an amazing job for me. Technology has moved way past the old analogue amplification that really did just make everything louder.

RHSeeger 7y ago
> I hear no voice even when someone is directly in front of me and no background noise. With them I can hold a conversation in a fairly noisy pub, its hard work to listen in noise but they do an amazing job for me. What you describe doesn't sound anything like what the person you were responding to was describing. It sounds like you're saying > I can't hear anything, but the hearing aid makes it so I can hear things AND distinguish voices from background noise. which is totally different from > I can hear everything around me just fine. I have problems distinguishing a single sound stream (voice) from all the other noise going on. Personally, I can be watching TV in one room just fine, my wife turns the dishwasher on in another room, and I can't understand anything on the TV anymore.
- throwitaway9 7y ago
  Its similar, the difference being someone who can hear well in quiet environments but has trouble in noise probably has an early-stage minor hearing loss whereas mine has been degrading from a minor loss for many years and so now I can't hear anything below about 70dB unaided. I have a sensorinerual loss, which is the most common, and is also very likely the cause of most people's noise problems - solvable with the same hearing aids doing the same job but with different setups. Someone with a minor loss still uses a lot of their natural hearing ability and only receives help in certain frequencies (usually high go first) and will wear an "open fit" type of ear piece whereas I need amplification across the board. My point really was a general one, that i felt the article was underplaying the capabilities of today's hearing aid technology.

RHSeeger 7y ago

> I hear no voice even when someone is directly in front of me and no background noise. With them I can hold a conversation in a fairly noisy pub, its hard work to listen in noise but they do an amazing job for me. What you describe doesn't sound anything like what the person you were responding to was describing. It sounds like you're saying > I can't hear anything, but the hearing aid makes it so I can hear things AND distinguish voices from background noise. which is totally different from > I can hear everything around me just fine. I have problems distinguishing a single sound stream (voice) from all the other noise going on. Personally, I can be watching TV in one room just fine, my wife turns the dishwasher on in another room, and I can't understand anything on the TV anymore.

throwitaway9 7y ago
Its similar, the difference being someone who can hear well in quiet environments but has trouble in noise probably has an early-stage minor hearing loss whereas mine has been degrading from a minor loss for many years and so now I can't hear anything below about 70dB unaided. I have a sensorinerual loss, which is the most common, and is also very likely the cause of most people's noise problems - solvable with the same hearing aids doing the same job but with different setups. Someone with a minor loss still uses a lot of their natural hearing ability and only receives help in certain frequencies (usually high go first) and will wear an "open fit" type of ear piece whereas I need amplification across the board. My point really was a general one, that i felt the article was underplaying the capabilities of today's hearing aid technology.