There is a new remote microphone in the hearing aid world! It is called the Multi Mic and it is made by ReSound. The Multi Mic is a discrete and powerful microphone with multiple functions. It has just been released in Canada and it’s compatible with almost every wireless ReSound Hearing Aid (even older generations). It transmits speech from the wearer’s mouth directly into your hearing aids. It can connect to an audio loop system and it also has a mini-jack for streaming audio from a music device into your hearing aids.
Audiologists have long since recognized the benefit of remote microphones for helping people with hearing loss hear better in background noise. Remote microphones work by enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio so that the person wearing the microphone is heard louder than the background noise. Most hearing aid manufacturers have developed a remote microphone that works with their hearing aids. Another more sophisticated version of a remote microphone is the Roger Pen which can be used with almost all hearing aids regardless of the manufacturer.
A recent study examined the benefits of remote microphones and compared 4 different hearing aid and microphone combinations. In each group the participants had significantly improved speech understanding in noise when using the remote microphone compared to without, even when standing 12 feet away from the speaker.
Remote microphones can be extremely helpful when you have limited face-to-face contact with the person you are trying to hear. For example, in the car or in different rooms in your home. Most remote microphones are easy to use and extremely portable (worn around your neck or clipped onto your shirt). Remote microphones can be an excellent strategy to enhance your hearing with your hearing aids. If you are interested in learning more, please contact us to speak to one of our audiologists about which microphone would work best for you.