Personal Sound Amplification Products , also known as "Personal Voice Enclosure Devices" or with the acronym PSAP , are designated by the US Food and Drug Administration as wearable electronic products intended to strengthen the voice for people who are not deaf or Hard of Hearing. They are not hearing aids, which the FDA describes as intended to compensate for hearing loss. According to Dr. Mann from the FDA, choosing PSAP as a replacement for hearing aids can cause more damage to your hearing
Video Personal Sound Amplification Products
Differences
Both PSAP and hearing aids are small electronic devices that go into the ear and amplify sound. PSAP is largely an off-the-shelf amplifier for people with normal hearing requiring a slight increase in volume in certain settings (such as hunting and bird watching). Hearing aids contains a much higher level of technology prescribed to treat diagnosed hearing loss. PSAP is not regulated under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act because it is not intended to treat, diagnose or cure hearing loss and does not alter the body's structure or function. Consequently, there is no regulatory classification, product code or definition for this product. However, the FDA does not regulate PSAPs under certain provisions of the Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act of 1968, which includes electronic products such as voice amplification equipment that emit a sonic vibration.
Maps Personal Sound Amplification Products
PSAP
Since they do not require a medical prescription and professional installation, PSAPs have been described as an audio version of reading glasses. Thus, PSAP is recommended for use by hunters who are looking for prey, for bird watching, help to hear distant conversations or performances and amplify the sound of television in a quiet room, for example. Of note, even the reading glasses are arranged under the FDA.
PSAP has grown in popularity among people with hearing loss, in part because they are cheaper than custom hearing aids, although apathetic, vanity and difficulty scheduling appointments with audiologists have also been cited as the reason for the adoption of low hearing aids. Since they do not require a medical check and installation, the PSAP ranges start at a price of 50 to several hundred dollars, while special hearing aids cost about $ 1400 on average and are not covered by Medicare and many insurance plans.
According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Diseases, of the 36 million Americans who may benefit from hearing aids, only about 20 percent actually use it. However, the 2010 survey showed that less than 18 percent of PSAP was used as a substitute for customary hearing aids and concluded that the majority of PSAP users would live with their hearing loss due to higher hearing instrument prices.
Many PSAPs are sold directly to consumers through online stores, in pharmacies and through many drugstores and retail chain stores.
PSAP Amplifier
PSAP Amplifier is usually a small simple device. They amplify the sound and give the result to the user's ear (s). The main components are microphones, amplifiers, speakers, volume controllers and resources.
The microphone captures sound waves (pressure) and converts them into electrical signals. The amplifier (electronic circuit) increases the amplitude of the electrical signal using a power source (battery). The speaker converts the re-energized electrical signal into sound waves. Volume control (reinforcement) is used to adjust the amount of gain applied to an electrical signal and thus, indirectly, control the volume.
The size of the device varies from small boxes (with earhole attached) worn around the neck or hung on a belt - down - a small device packaged inside the ear canal. This smaller device looks like a hearing aid but is much simpler and does not improve hearing loss.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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