FEEDBACK from Hearing Aids

Timothy C. Hain, MD

Page last modified: June 17, 2009

Hearing aids are electrical devices that assist perception of speech or other sounds. Hearing aid users frequently complain about squealing noises. This is called "feedback".

Feedback results from sound coming from the speaker part of the hearing aid, "feeding back" into the microphone part. Feedback is especially a problem if:

• Hearing aid volume is high.
• The hearing aid microphone is close to the speaker
• There is a poor fit to the ear canal.

Practically, feedback can nearly always be eliminated