"Before coming to (audiologist Michael) Rametta's, I went to a doctor in Chicora," Hileman said, clutching his cane with one hand overlapping the other. "He told me that if I live to be an old man, I would be completely deaf."

But deaf is far from what Hileman is. With the help of the Senso Diva High Definition Hearing Aid, Hileman, 71, is enjoying the sound of his grandchildren laughing and the sweet songs of birds.

Improvements in hearing-aid technology have enabled individuals to hear the wonders of the world clearly -- through high-definition hearing.

Hearing aids have come a long way since their development centuries ago. Not all could be concealed or managed as easily as they are today. But size and the ability to hide the hearing aid is not an important factor to those who do not want to miss out on hearing the special events that life brings their way.

The Senso Diva High Definition Hearing Aid by Widex was developed in Denmark, with many United States trials, says Michael Rametta, an audiologist for Rametta Audiology and Hearing Aid Center, a family practice in Vandergrift and Tarentum. The device is known to the audiology world as always "thinking" for the wearer.

"It thinks, because it is constantly detecting where sounds are coming from," Rametta says. "It lets the wearer know if sounds are coming from behind them rather than in front."

With the high-definition hearing aid, hearing more clearly is easier than you might "think."

According to Widex, the new hearing aid combines two advanced microphones with digital-signal processing techniques, allowing the hearing aid to perform the "thinking" task. The microphones, along with the digital sensors, enable the hearing aid to locate sources of noise with the microphones and automatically adjust their direction to minimize noise. Minimal noise is the link that holds together clearer hearing and a happy hearing-aid wearer.

"The new hearing aid has made a difference in the relationship with my family," Hileman says. "They don't have to turn the television up just for me to hear it and have it be too loud for them."

For Hileman, life has improved for the better because he is able to relate better to people.

"I now can hear better," he says as he taps his left ear.

Rametta has received positive reactions from Senso Diva High Definition Hearing Aid wearers, but with Hileman's ability to hear very low on the charts, he remembers the day he received the hearing aid. "The first thing that Chuck said to me was "Wow! I really can hear different," Rametta says, smiling, as Hileman smiles back.

The advances in technology with the Senso Diva High Definition Hearing Aid do not stop there.

"The hearing aid processes sound in 15 channels and bands that adjust to frequency regions," Rametta says. "It can also distinguish between noise and speech through digital noise reduction."

For anyone who has lived with a hearing-aid wearer or known one, there is one feature that makes wearing a hearing aid discouraging -- feedback. Talking on the telephone, eating a snack or eating dinner in a fancy restaurant could cause a high-pitched whistling.

"The Senso Diva stands out, because there is no feedback (whistling)," Rametta says. "It will automatically adjust to volume levels, except when listening to music or using the phone. Then, you have to push a small button on the side of the hearing aid before you begin to use the phone or sit to watch television, and you are set -- no feedback (whistling)."

The Senso Diva High Definition Hearing Aid is available in three sizes. The completely-in-the-canal hearing aid is smaller than a dime. It is so discreet that it is being called "nearly invisible." The in-the-ear/canal hearing aid is somewhat larger, yet discreet and concealed in the ear. The largest of the three, the behind-the-ear hearing aid, is slightly visible and is used for individuals who have more severe hearing loss.

"There is a limit to who can wear a specific size of hearing aid," Rametta says. "The behind-the-ear hearing aid is used for someone who is almost deaf."

The sweet sound of hearing in both ears

For some, hearing loss does not occur in just one ear, but both. Individuals who experience hearing loss in both ears also can experience a technological upgrade with a hearing system that is equipped with wireless synchronization between the hearing aids in both ears. That system is ACURIS with e2e wireless designed by Siemens.

"Seventy percent of people today have hearing loss in both ears," says Dr. George Fyke, an audiologist for Trinity Hearing Aid in New Kensington. "The hearing aids 'talk' to each other to function as one system."

Because hearing aids are worn as separate entities in each ear, they can be out of balance. If one is turned up or down and the other is not adjusted to the same level, an imbalance can occur, leading the wearer to believe a sound is muffled or is coming from a different direction.

"The new system is great, because there is only one hearing aid to adjust, and the other one automatically responds," Fyke says.

The ACURIS with e2e wireless contains two microphones that allow a person to always hear at different degrees, digital sound processing that adjusts automatically to the change in sound from normal to loud or soft. The hearing-aid system also has automatic feedback cancellation that eliminates feedback (whistling) as soon as it begins.

"This system allows individuals to hear more clearly in restaurants, and not have to leave them reading the lips of their grandchildren," Fyke says.

By Francine Garrone