{"id":571,"date":"2020-09-14T15:21:08","date_gmt":"2020-09-14T06:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oliveunion.com\/ustest\/headphones-and-hearing-aids-can-they-work-together\/"},"modified":"2021-01-14T16:51:36","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T07:51:36","slug":"headphones-and-hearing-aids-can-they-work-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oliveunion.com\/ustest\/hearing-device\/headphones-and-hearing-aids-can-they-work-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Headphones and Hearing Aids – Can They Work Together?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Headphones have been around since the early 1900s, and have seen many shapes and forms. They are the perfect way to listen to audio without disturbing those around us. For people who use hearing aids, however, headphones can be problematic. The major problem is that some headphones just don\u2019t fit over hearing aids. So, you might have to remove your hearing aids in order to put headphones on, but then you probably have to turn the volume up to levels that are damaging to your remaining hearing, which is less than ideal.<\/p>\n

However, there are other problems too. If the headphone is pressed too closely to the microphone of the hearing aid, then feedback can occur – an annoying whistling sound that occurs when audio signals become mixed. And then there\u2019s the problem of volume: the audio you\u2019re listening to and the hearing aid each have their own volume, so it\u2019s difficult to know the true volume of the audio. Some people may turn the music up when they should be turning the sensitivity of their hearing aids down. As a result of these issues, many hearing aid wearers have given up on headphones altogether, but it doesn\u2019t have to be that way – there are options that will work with most hearing aids.<\/p>\n

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Are There Hearing Aid Headphones?<\/b><\/h2>\n

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While there are currently no hearing aid headphones on the market; the headphones that come the closest are <\/span>bone conduction headphones<\/span><\/a>. Bone conduction headphones utilize wireless Bluetooth technology and sit on your cheekbones just in front of your ear. As such, they transmit sound to your cheek and jawbones instead of to your eardrum. Therefore, the sound bypasses your outer and middle ear and stimulates the inner ear directly via the vibration of your bones. <\/span><\/p>\n

The benefit of this type of headphone is that no matter what type of hearing aid you have, these headphones won\u2019t interfere with it because they sit on your cheekbones, not on the ear. In addition, because bone conduction headphones don\u2019t send sound to your hearing aids they won\u2019t have the problem with feedback that you may get with other types of headphones. However, the major drawback is that because they aren\u2019t directly implanted in your bone (such as with cochlear implants or bone anchored hearing aids) the sound transmission is not direct, and thus the sound quality may be lacking.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Can You Use Headphones With Hearing Aids?<\/b><\/h2>\n

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The shorter answer is yes, you can use headphones if you wear hearing aids, but there are some things to keep in mind before you go out and buy a pair. First of all, earbuds like Apple’s AirPods are out – all hearing aids have a component that sits inside the ear canal and are therefore incompatible with earbuds, which also sit in the ear canal. <\/span><\/p>\n

So headphones only. The main factor to consider when selecting a pair of headphones is fit – not all headphone types will work with all hearing aids. And a proper fit is important, because if they don\u2019t fit, you may have feedback issues or have difficulty hearing the sound properly. When you do use headphones over your hearing aids to listen to music, it\u2019s important to remember that most hearing aids have settings for \u201cmusic,\u201d which adjust the gain levels of your hearing aids to give you better sound quality when listening to music, compared to when you\u2019re listening to speech. If you\u2019re not sure how to change the programming on your hearing aid so that you can listen to music, ask your audiologist or other hearing healthcare professional to help you.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Picking the Right Headphones for Your Hearing Aids<\/b><\/h2>\n

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\"Boy<\/p>\n

Before you pick a pair of headphones to use with your hearing aids, you must consider both the type of headphones you want and the type of hearing aids that you have.<\/span><\/p>\n

Headphones come in two styles: on-ear or over-the-ear headphones.<\/span><\/a> On-ear headphones sit directly on the ear and are usually lighter and less hot than over-the-ear headphones, which surround and cup the ear and press on the sides of the head.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When considering the style of hearing aids you have, keep in mind that c<\/span>ompatible headphones are usually easier to find for smaller hearing aids than larger ones. Let\u2019s discuss the headphone friendly types:<\/span><\/p>\n