Hunting hearing aids offer safe sound amplification, making it easier to hear voices and prey sounds at the range or in the field. But many of our customers have asked us: can you use a hunting hearing aid for daily wear? And with so many features to consider, how do you choose the right one? Read on.
Question: Could I use a hunting hearing aid for daily wear, and how do I choose the best feature set?
Answer: Absolutely the hunting hearing aids can be used for daily wear. In fact I suspect that the primary reason most people buy hunting hearing aids is because they are so much less expensive than professional hearing aids, while providing similar functionality. The added benefit of automatically limiting dangerous noises is a plus no matter what you are doing.
I would also add that if you need a hearing aid that is programmed to your audiogram, you will generally be better served by buying a professional hearing aid, though some of the models we sell do have that capability.
The other limitation of hunting hearing aids is that none offer more than about a 50 dB maximum gain, so if you need more than that, they will be inadequate for your purposes.
Finally, when choosing a hearing aid, here are a few features to consider:
- Digital vs. Analog. Digital is better in that they use less battery power, they process sound more cleanly giving you a better quality of sound and the possibility of multiple stored setting profiles as well as being programmable. All these potential benefits depend on the model you are buying of course and a basic digital with one channel will not be much better than an analog model, though it will be more expensive.
- Number of Channels. Each channel is an amplifier that is dedicated to a specific range of frequencies. Think of these as analogous to woofers and tweeters on a stereo system. The more channels, up to about 4, gives you a much clearer sound quality because each amplifier channel will be better at doing its job, rather than one amplifier having to do the job of amplifying all the frequency ranges.
- Number of Bands. In addition to dedicated amplifiers which help to preserve the overall clarity of sound, digital hearing aids contain a graphic equalizer, usually with 4 to 16 programmable bands. The equalizer is what gets tuned by programming so that it emphasizes or de-emphasizes specific frequencies the user has difficulty hearing or to which he is overly sensitive. In most hunting hearing aids, the graphic equalizer is tuned to a good average setting profile that works for the majority of people expected to use these, with no intention of the device ever being programmed to a specific user's needs. In general, the more bands, the more precisely the device can be tuned, but since hunting hearing aids do not get tuned to each user, more bands are really a waste of money. It is like buying a high end graphic equalizer and keeping all 16 bands set right in the middle.
- ITE (in the ear) vs. BTE (behind the ear). Both have pros and cons. Some ITE devices can be made with custom molds, though that option is rarely available for devices under $1,000. All BTE devices can be fitted with a custom mold because the BTE device delivers sound through a tube, which can readily be fitted with a custom mold. A set of custom molds for a pair of BTE Devices will cost about $120-150, depending on the variables you add such as special colors, coatings, etc. BTE devices have become small enough that most now fit neatly and comfortably behind the ear, unlike older analog models that were pretty big and clunky. As a result, BTE devices have begun to win out over ITE devices. ITE devices also tend to suffer problems with feedback because the microphone on the face of the device is very close to the speaker that projects sound into the ear. Even a tiny sound leak often results in a really annoying feedback squeal. That said, modern digital ITE devices are nearly all equipped with sophisticated feedback reduction circuits that dramatically limit the feedback problem by instantly shutting down the amplifiers in a feedback situation. BTE devices, resting behind the ear, and well away from the output of the device in the canal, do not have nearly so much of a feedback problem.
With these ideas in mind, I invite you to review the choices we offer on our Hunting Hearing Aid page.
One more thing: if you have never used an in-ear amplifier, you might want to start with a cheap entry level device and see how that works for you. Once you have a little experience with the in ear devices, you can then begin to home in on the features offered by higher end devices to choose those that address your areas of dissatisfaction with the less expensive options.
Until next time, be safe and do the right thing.
Tom Bergman, Vice President
Ear Plug Superstore
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