Programmable aids improve hearing.

Digitally programmable aids may be the next frontier n hearing technology, suggests Michael Valente, director of adult audiology and assistant professor of otolaryngology, Washington University School of Medicine. Many adapt to the listening environment and produce better sound quality than previous technology--good news for the 18,000,000 Americans who need hearing aids, but are reluctant to try them.

Their power is two-told They can store various settings into several memories to help wearers adjust to different listening environments, and some of them are more effective in reducing background noise for better understanding of speech in noisy surroundings. The aids have been trickling into the market for about four years and new models continually are being developed, but the technology still is not very well-known by the general public.

Most revolutionary is the programmable aids' capacity for storing into memory two to eight separate responses. Using a remote control or different settings on the hearing aid, wearers can switch from one memory to another, depending on the listening situation. Programs can be designed to improve speech communication in noisy rooms...