Birdwatching is a great way to connect with nature, whether you’re a pro competing in the World Series of Birding or just hanging out in Phinizy Swamp Nature Park looking for your favorite local birds. If you’ve always loved watching birds, but hearing loss has made it difficult to catch the characteristic tweeting or fully enjoy the activity, hearing aids can help.
Improving Sound Location
When you’re searching for birds, sometimes your ears find them before your eyes do. A bird may be hidden in a tree or brush, but its song can give away its location.
Without hearing damage, your two ears work together to help you determine where a sound is coming from. They compare subtle differences in the timing and loudness of sounds reaching each ear.[1]
Hearing loss can make this process more difficult, especially when it affects one ear more than the other. Wearing hearing aids in both ears will provide your brain with the sound information it needs to identify where a bird call is coming from.
Bringing Back High-Pitched Sounds
Birdsong often includes high-frequency sounds, which can become more difficult to hear as hearing loss progresses. As a result, some of the lighter, higher-pitched birds may be difficult to spot.
Hearing aids are designed to amplify the frequencies you struggle to hear. From the quick chirp of a finch to the familiar song of a robin, your devices bring more of these sounds back into your birdwatching experience.
Practicing With Bluetooth®
Identifying birds by sound takes practice. The more familiar you become with different calls and songs, the easier it can be to recognize them when you’re outside.
Many modern hearing aids can connect to smartphones, tablets and computers using Bluetooth®. You can use this feature to stream bird calls directly through your hearing aids and practice identifying different species before heading outdoors.
For more information on the benefits of hearing aids, contact Augusta – Aiken ENT & Allergy today to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists.
[1] Zheng, Y., Swanson, J., Koehnke, J., & Guan, J. (2022). Sound localization of listeners with normal hearing, impaired hearing, hearing aids, bone-anchored hearing instruments, and cochlear implants: A review. American Journal of Audiology, 31(3), 819–834. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_AJA-22-00006