The Design And Construction Of The Hearing Aid Device

THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE HEARING AID DEVICE

Abstract

A hearing aid is a small electronic device that fits in or behind the ear and helps with hearing and, by extension, communication.In this study, an acoustic signal is captured using a condenser microphone and used to build and create a hearing aid device with pre-amplifier. The TDA 2822M IC is set up to generate an audio amplification that is transformed into an audio signal and transmitted through headphones. In order to determine the physical properties of the circuit, designed equations were used. Following design, the circuit was built and put to the test on four individuals who had a partial hearing impairment. The outcome revealed that all of the patients’ hearing abilities had significantly improved. The final evaluation revealed that the tool could be very beneficial for those with hearing loss in one or both ears. Those who were completely deaf, however, were unaffected by the device. It is advised to design and build a wireless hearing aid device to lessen the weight as a further enhancement. In order to make the hearing aids smaller and lighter overall, the shell should be composed of more lightweight, portable, and high-quality plastic. More care should be taken during design to prevent feedback signals between the microphone and the headphones, which could produce noisy signals.

First Chapter Introduction

1.1 The Study’s Context

One of the five senses, along with sight, taste, smell, and touch, is hearing. Incoming sounds are received by the ear. The brain and central nervous system interpret sound even though the ear is the sense organ for hearing and receives sound. The human auditory system can typically detect noises between 20 Hz and 20 kHz, although the majority of the information in a human voice is contained between 100 Hz and 6 kHz (Kinsler, Frey, Coppers, and Sanders, 1982). Human deafness (high sensitivity to sound) and hearing loss most frequently result from injury to the ear, not the central auditory system, even though the feeling of hearing requires both a working ear and an undamaged and functioning auditory component of the central nervous system.

A hearing aid device is a tiny electronic device that is inserted behind or in the ear to enhance hearing and, as a result, communication skills (Yusuf, 2015). While some people have hearing issues from birth, others start having them as they become older. Disease, aging, noise injury, or the use of specific medications can all contribute to this issue (N.I.D.C.D., 2010). There are two types of hearing issues: total deafness and partial impairment. Hearing issues may develop post-lingually (after learning to speak) or in those with trilingual deafness (deafness that develops before learning to speak). No matter the severity or course of the deafness, the patient is typically filled with worry and frustration because it has an impact on practically every part of their life.

People who are relatively insensitive to sound in the speech frequency range are typically those who suffer from hearing loss. Any component of the auditory system that is not functioning normally can cause hearing loss (Oyler, R., Oyler, A., and Matkin, 1988).

For those with hearing loss, the design and construction of the hearing aid device can enhance the sound quality. The integrated circuit at the center of the system amplifies each signal captured by the condenser microphone, turns them back into sound, and sends it to the ear. It is an electronic gadget that amplifies sound for those who have hearing loss and is battery-operated. The hearing aid’s amplification feature is made possible by a number of parts, including an input transducer (microphone) that detects sound, an amplifier that boosts the sound’s volume, and an output transducer (receiver) that converts the electrical signal back into sound and transmits it to the ear (Lowenberg, 1976).

Four different types of hearing aids have been made available: body, eyeglass, behind-the-ear (BTE), and in-the-ear (ITE). In-the-canal (ITC) and completely-in-the-canal (CIC) kinds of hearing aids are within the ITE category. While body and eyeglass form hearing aids were frequently used 40–50 years ago, only 1% of hearing aids on the market today are of these styles. Instead, the majority of people opt for ITE (about 80%) or BTE (roughly 20%) style hearing aids. Numerous factors, such as the shrinking size of the components, durability, and customer concerns about appearance, are contributing to this change in fashion, use, and choice (Gus and Ruth, 2005).