Home > Encyclopedia of Medicine > Hearing Aids

Definition

A hearing aid is a device that can amplify sound waves in order to help a deaf or hard-of-hearing person hear sounds more clearly.

Purpose

Recent technology can help most people with hearing loss understand speech better and achieve better communication.

Precautions

It's important that a person being fitted for a hearing aid understand what an aid can and can't do. An aid can help a person hear better, but it won't return hearing to normal levels. Hearing aids boost all sounds, not just those the person wishes to hear. Especially when the source of sound is far away (such as up on a stage), environmental noise can interfere with good speech perception. And while the aid amplifies sound, it doesn't necessarily improve the clarity of the sound. A hearing aid is a machine, and can never duplicate the true sound that...