By David Bryce on 15th September 2015

The Widex Audibility Extender

The Audibility Extender is a Widex hearing aid feature that has been around for a long time. Initially it wasn't well received because of the way it sounded, however as they have updated the feature in successive hearing aid platforms it has become a fantastic tool in the armoury of audiology. It is often the last resort for certain types of hearing loss, although, it probably should be the first.

What Does It Do?

We are going to get nerdy, get your tea and sit in a comfy chair, we'll wait! Okay, the feature is what is known as frequency transposition, it transposes (moves) a sound from one frequency to another. Okay first lets talk about frequencies, sound is split into different frequencies, think about the scales on the sound of music. The frequencies that a hearing aid handles, processes and outputs are the frequencies that are important to human speech. Each hearing aid splits these into a different amount of frequency bands or channels ranging from low frequency (bass) to high frequency (treble). 

Frequency transposition works by moving a sound in a high frequency down to a lower frequency. It does this with no time lag and produces the sound with all of its characteristics, so it is exactly the same, just in a different frequency.  But why is this important David? I hear you ask. Because it can move that sound from a frequency that you can't hear in, to a frequency where you can. Giving you the benefit of that sound and making speech clearer. 

Who Does It Work For?

The feature is primarily used for people with very little or no high frequency hearing. Sometimes, in particular with Noise Induced Hearing Loss, a person may have no hearing in the high frequencies. Or even if they do, it isn't really usable and trying to deliver sound makes things worse, not better. In essence the feature is suitable for anyone with an severe high frequency hearing loss

What's The Benefit?

I am glad you asked me that! First a little lesson about frequencies in speech and the sounds in those frequencies. In speech, the power of words, the vowels, the ooh, aahs etc, are all low frequencies. these sounds give the volume and power of speech. The clarity of speech, the consonants, the t,f,k, are all high frequency sounds. If you can't hear those consonants, speech will never be clear. If you have no high frequency hearing, we can't help you with normal hearing aids. However, with frequency transposition, we can programme the hearing aids to present those consonant sounds to you at a lower frequency where you can hear them. This allows you to hear speech clearer and understand it better. 

Wheres The Catch?

There actually isn't really any catch, (hide the catch, hide the catch!) hearing aids with this feature are no more expensive than any other. In fact most hearing aid manufacturers produce their own flavour of this type of feature. Not just that, it is available on many of their hearing aids and it is just a matter of turning it on. Frequency transposition does take someone a little longer to adjust to though. But the extra adjustment period is worth it for the extra benefits that are delivered. 

Where Can I Get Them?

Yup, you guessed it, right here! All joking aside, if you have a hearing loss and you are struggling to hear and understand speech even if you are wearing a hearing aid, this type of feature may be for you. If you want to know about this hearing aid feature, or any hearing aid features, give us a call on 01224 637255 to have a chat or book an appointment.