National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Hearing Aids is the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine 
National Institutes of Health
Hearing Aids
A hearing aid is a small electronic device that you wear in or behind your ear. It magnifies sound vibrations entering the ear. That makes some sounds louder. A hearing aid can help people hear more in both quiet and noisy situations.
Hearing aids help people who have hearing loss from damage to the small sensory cells in the inner ear. The damage can occur as a result of disease, aging, or injury from noise or certain medicines.
Only about one out of five people who would benefit from a hearing aid actually uses one. If you think a hearing aid could help you, visit your doctor.
NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
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Start Here
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Hearing Aids(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
- Also available in Spanish
- Hearing Aids: How to Choose the Right One(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Hearing Aids
The top row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Basics
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Learn More
, and
Multimedia & Cool Tools
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For group Basics
For group Learn More
For group Multimedia & Cool Tools
The bottom row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Research
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Reference Shelf
, and
For You
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For group Research
For group Reference Shelf
For group For You
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Overviews
- Hearing Aids(Food and Drug Administration)
- Sound Advice on Hearing Aids(Federal Trade Commission)
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Specific Conditions
- Digital Hearing Aids: Current "State-of-the-Art"(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
- Get More from Hearing Aids or Cochlear Implants with Hearing Loops(American Academy of Audiology) - PDF
- Hearing Assistive Technology(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
- Other Products and Devices to Improve Hearing(Food and Drug Administration)
- Telecoil: Connecting Directly to Sound(American Academy of Audiology) - PDF
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Related Issues
- Buying a Hearing Aid(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
- Earwax and Hearing Aids(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
- Hearing Aid Myths and Facts(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
- Hearing Aids and Cell Phones: What You Should Know Before You Buy(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
- Hearing Aids and Personal Sound Amplifiers: Know the Difference(Food and Drug Administration)
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Pictures & Photographs
- Different Styles of Hearing Aids(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
- Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants and Other Sensory Aids to Improve Hearing(House Research Institute)
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Tutorials
- Hearing Aid Device(Food and Drug Administration)
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Financial Issues
- Funding Resources for Audiology Services and Hearing Aids(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
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Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Hearing Aids(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Hearing Aids
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Research
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Hearing Aids(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
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Hearing Aids
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
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Directories
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Directory of Organizations (Deafness and Communication Disorders)(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
- Find a Professional: Online Directory of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Programs(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
- Find an Audiologist(American Academy of Audiology)
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Directory of Organizations (Deafness and Communication Disorders)
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Organizations
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Children
- Hearing Aids for Children(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
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Teenagers
- Hearing Aids(Nemours Foundation)
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Adults
- Hearing Aids for Adults(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
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Patient Handouts
- Devices for hearing loss
- Also available in Spanish
- Living with hearing loss
- Also available in Spanish
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You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
