{"id":1238,"date":"2022-05-06T05:39:22","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T05:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/?p=1238"},"modified":"2022-05-06T05:39:25","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T05:39:25","slug":"how-are-animals-helping-scientists-improve-hearing-aids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/how-are-animals-helping-scientists-improve-hearing-aids\/","title":{"rendered":"How are Animals Helping Scientists Improve Hearing Aids?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>You might think that a spider lurking in your kitchen or the fly buzzing in your face at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irlt.org\/cfiles\/projects_lagoongreenway.cfm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lagoon Greenway<\/a> is nothing but a nuisance. However, researchers see them as helpful in unlocking the secrets to better <a href=\"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/hearing-aids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hearing aids<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Background Noise and Hearing Aid Limitations\u00a0\u00a0 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-pixabay-39494-1280x960.jpg\" alt=\"Close up of a spider web.\" class=\"wp-image-1240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-pixabay-39494-1280x960.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-pixabay-39494-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-pixabay-39494-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/pexels-pixabay-39494-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>You might be wondering how insects could possibly help anyone hear better. The answer is that they may hold the key to solving a common problem of hearing aid users: Understanding speech when there\u2019s background noise.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Modern hearing aid technology lets you choose settings and filters to help minimize background noise. However, it can still be somewhat challenging to focus in on conversations and specific voices, especially in environments where multiple people are speaking at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Directional microphones have made understanding speech easier in places with background noise. Yet they are currently only available in behind-the-ear (BTE) models and still struggle with lower frequency sounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u00a0Providing Better Material for Hearing Aids\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Research has shown that spider silk may be an ideal material to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.utoronto.ca\/news\/super-hearing-u-t-scientists-study-fly-develop-better-hearing-aids\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">create better directional microphones in hearing aids<\/a> with quality sound at all frequencies.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the technology is likely years off, figuring out a way to mass-produce hearing aids with these types of fibers could improve hearing aid performance in key settings, such as:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Large work meetings or conferences&nbsp;<\/li><li>Busy restaurants&nbsp;<\/li><li>Parties&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Optimizing Hearing Ability&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, at the University of Toronto, researchers are studying the unique hearing ability of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.utoronto.ca\/news\/super-hearing-u-t-scientists-study-fly-develop-better-hearing-aids\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a small fly known as <em>Ormia ochracea<\/em><\/a>. These flies have extremely accurate directional hearing due to the design of their ears.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike most other animals, <em>Ormia\u2019s <\/em>eardrums are connected. This gives them the ability to quickly figure out which direction sound is coming from. Engineers hope to create sensor technology that can model the fly\u2019s eardrum to improve the ability of hearing aids to localize sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Don\u2019t Wait to Treat Your Hearing Loss&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While these potential advances are exciting, don\u2019t delay treatment waiting for them. If you\u2019re experiencing signs of <a href=\"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/hearing-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hearing loss<\/a>, make an appointment for a hearing test as soon as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These tests are quick, painless and provide immediate insight into the severity of your hearing loss. In most cases, your audiologist will recommend hearing aids. While these devices may not yet have spider silk, they still offer numerous benefits, including:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Improved ability to follow conversations and focus on the sounds you want to hear&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Better mental and physical health&nbsp;<\/li><li>Lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information or to speak with a hearing expert, call <span class=\"company-name \">Aaron&#039;s Hearing Aid &amp; Audiology Center<\/span> today.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/what-to-know-about-ear-stroke\/\" class=\"related-post\">What to Know About Ear Stroke<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/how-to-safeguard-your-hearing-aids-from-pets\/\" class=\"related-post\">How to Safeguard Your Hearing Aids from Pets<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/pediatric-hearing-aids-and-loss-what-parents-should-know\/\" class=\"related-post\">Pediatric Hearing Aids and Loss: What Parents Should Know<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You might think that a spider lurking in your kitchen or the fly buzzing in your face at Lagoon Greenway is nothing but a nuisance. However, researchers see them as helpful in unlocking the secrets to better hearing aids.\u00a0 Background Noise and Hearing Aid Limitations\u00a0\u00a0 You might be wondering how insects could possibly help anyone&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Research has shown that spider silk may be an ideal material to create better directional microphones in hearing aids.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1238"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1244,"href":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238\/revisions\/1244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aaronshearingcare.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}