These aren’t your parents’ hearing aids. With AI and Deep Neural Networks, hearing devices can now distinguish not only quiet versus noisy environments, but the TYPE of quiet or noisy…and so much more. Dr. Natalie McKee, Au.D. explains how this revolutionary tech helps hearing devices process sound more like the human brain, creating clearer, more natural listening experiences.
Crystal in Normal wants to know, “What is a Deep Neural Network and how does it apply to hearing technology?” We need to first talk about artificial intelligence and machine learning. These basic features that we have taught to these computers are evident in our everyday life, with what we think are very simple things now like a smart thermometer or thermostat at your home. It is “smart,” but it isn’t thinking. The next phase is machine learning, where they feed data into the device and also give it algorithms to make decisions about things. So in the concept of hearing aids, we saw this first appear when we wanted to start looking at noise, and doing better performance in noise. Teaching the devices to recognize if they are in a quiet environment or a noisy environment, and then making a change to the processing in regards to that. A Deep Neural Network is like that on steroids, essentially. It’s meant to mimic the synapses in our brain. There are levels of decisions that it makes based on the input that it gets. And so when it comes to hearing aids, it’s taking that concept of, “Is it quiet or is it noisy,” into, “What KIND of quiet?” and “What KIND of noisy?” The way that our patients have explained to us the difference in the experiences that have been wearing what we’ll call traditional hearing aids and have switched to these Deep Neural Networks, they say that the sound seems more normal or natural. I think in the past when people have worn hearing aids, noise hasn’t had layers to it. They walk into a noisy room, and it just feels like it surrounds them and it’s noisy. What people are telling us now is they feel like there’s a spatial arrangement to that noise. They hear something and they realize it’s over there, not right here. And it allows our brains, our actual brains, to make better sense of the information and have a better end result and a happier patient. I think in the context of amplification and hearing better, it’s really exciting to see how they’re able to do this. It does seem a little science fictiony. I had patients ask, “Well, can I tell it only to hear THAT person?” or “I don’t want to hear THAT sound.” And I would say, “Unfortunately, if it’s sound you’re gonna hear it.” But maybe sometime in the not too distant future, we’ll see hearing aids where you can actually mute people you don’t want to hear, specifically. Or, conversely, hear those people who are most important to you. I’m Dr. Natalie McKee from Bloomington-Normal Audiology, and we’re ‘hear’ for you.