Diana Bender reviewed the varieties of ways that people with hearing loss deal with background noise. Some are operational: avoid noisy situations, or move conversations to a quieter location. Some situations can be made less noisy by a simply request, but some level of assertive behavior can sometimes solve a problem.

Many hearing aids now provide some measure of noise reduction. Microphone configuration can provide directivity, which can help to suppress noise. There are a variety of focus modes on hearing aids that can suppress noise other than speech.

A remote microphone is a major step in dealing with noise. The microphone picks up the sound at its source and transmits it directly to the ear.

Members added questions and answers to these topics.

Do you have trouble hearing when background noise is loud? The October meeting will explain how noise reduction programs in hearing aids and cochlear implants work to improve our hearing in noise. We will also briefly review the new hearing aids which use AI to get further improvement.

We meet at the Jeanes Library, 4051 Joshua Road, Lafayette Hill, PA 19444, at 5:30 on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. Watch this space for details.

Please join us.