Hearing aids have enabled millions of people all over the world to hear again.
Hearing is something that many take for granted, but in our modern world its essential in more than one way.
Enjoying music, watching movies or even just having a conversation relies on good hearing and many people have hearing problems that can only be corrected with a hearing device.
Hearing devices have become very sophisticated and in recent years digital hearing aids allowed for much more advanced amplification and sound clarity.
One of the biggest problems with analogue devices was that the the quality of sound was really poor and constant tuning and adjustment was required.
One of the biggest problem for younger people with hearing problems is that they find wearing a hearing device embarrassing.
With the older over-the-ear type models it was often very big and cumbersome.
Today, many of these models look very contemporary and most of them look no different than a normal cell phone device.
There are also newer models that fit entirely inside the ear which makes them barely visible.
A perplexing problem with ear a hearing aid is the variation in sounds in different environments.
Our natural hearing is very well adjusted and can "tune" itself automatically in an instant.
With an electronic device many noises simply cannot be blocked out and it can be very annoying.
Wind noise, loud sounds and high pitched noises can be a real problem with hearing devises.
Fortunately the technology is becoming much better and in the near future many of these issues may be a thing of the past.