What is a directional microphone and is this important to have on a hearing aid?
Today’s hearing aids are digital devices that amplify sound and strive to improve the signal to noise ratio, the ratio between the loudness of speech verses background noise. The louder the speech is in relation to the background noise, the greater the signal to noise ratio. Directional microphones are the most powerful feature on a hearing aid to enhance the signal to noise ratio. As a key component in the noise management system, directional microphones enhance the voice of the person in front of you while decreasing the sounds behind you. The two most successful strategies to improve speech in noise are directional microphones and wearing two hearing aids. A directional microphone is actually two microphones. They work together and can tell which sounds are in front and which sounds are behind you. This allows the hearing aids to focus on the sounds in front and decrease what is behind. Nothing can make background noise go away but the forward focus helps to separate speech from noi
