The idea of using artificial intelligence in the best hearing aids is not a new one, even though it may sound futuristic. Artificial intelligence has been growing in leaps and bounds in the last few decades. It was a watershed moment in artificial intelligence when Gary Kasparov, the world’s reigning chess champion was defeated by AI in 1997. Today, it’s been almost 20 years since a human has been able to win against AI under standard chess tournament conditions. Of course, there is a lot of fear and skepticism about AI (probably due to the Terminator movies) but there is no doubt that AI has made and continues to make a huge impact on hearing aid technology.
How AI can Change your Hearing Experience
Prioritizes Sound for a Better Hearing Experience
The AI algorithm used in hearing aids can distinguish between different types of sound and then automatically adjust the hearing aid settings to optimize hearing. For example, if you are in a restaurant, most regular hearing aids would not be able to distinguish between the background sounds that are unimportant to you and the conversation from your companions. The sound would be overwhelming and you would have a tough time conversing with your group. However, if you have hearing aids with AI, the algorithm would continuously analyze the sounds around you to minimize background noise and amplify the sounds you want to hear so that you can enjoy the best possible hearing experience. Each hearing aid brand uses a unique AI and some offer additional features depending on your needs. For instance, the Genesis AI which is ideal for seniors can also detect falls and send an alert to family or friends. There are plenty of brands in the market so whether you’re looking for prescription hearing aids or over the counter ones, you should check out the best hearing aids that have been vetted by independent experts. This will allow you to check the pros and cons of each hearing aid and help you find the ones that best suit your individual hearing requirements.
Analyzes Sounds to Improve Sound Quality
To understand just how much of a difference AI makes to hearing aid sound quality, we need to look at how the process works. These hearing aids have a deep neural network which is a type of machine learning that mimics the way the human brain learns. Take the sounds of a trumpet as an example – there are multiple notes and pitches but all of them come from the same instrument. The AI uses algorithms to process this information and is able to classify all of them as different trumpet sounds. The AI is given millions of real-world sounds so that it is able to recognize patterns and make predictions. The process is repeated over and over again until the AI can instantly recognize a specific sound in the same way that a brain would. Oticon is the most popular brand that uses this technology but some models from Phonak, Starkey, and Signia also use AI and machine learning.
Adapts to Match your Needs
Those who have been using hearing aids for decades are used to switching between different programs. Each program is meant for a different environment such as your home, a busy street or a restaurant. With older hearing aid models, you have to manually change programs – in most cases, you need to press and hold a button to switch to the next program and then repeat the process to switch to the next one. Hearing aids with AI are able to remember your preferences and use them to personalize sound settings to match your needs. It can automatically switch between different hearing programs based on your environment so that you do not need to make adjustments manually. The transition between programs is smooth and seamless which provides a more natural experience. AI also helps with speech understanding to improve your social interactions.
One of the added benefits of using a hearing aid with AI is that it saves you the time and energy going for repeated in-person adjustments with your audiologist. This is because your audiologist can remotely adjust the settings on your hearing aid based on your feedback.