Jennifer Matthews: Three months ago, a walk in the park for Roy Baldwin sounded jumbled, even with hearing aids,

Roy Baldwin: I had two different pair. Neither one of them worked successfully. They just magnified sounds, and that was about all you could say for them. It served as a good ear plug.

Jennifer Matthews: New, all-digital hearing aids are changing that. Roy's version of hearing aid automatically distinguishes between speech and sounds.

Lisa Myrick: The key reason somebody comes in for a hearing aid is that they cannot understand speech anymore. It's not so much that they don't hear.

Jennifer Matthews: The digital chip has a dual microphone system to balance sounds. Audiologist Lisa Myrick says it won't cure hearing loss or reproduce natural hearing, but its close,

Lisa Myrick: If you've worn a hearing aid in the past, you will be surprised at the difference of what you hear.

Jennifer Matthews: It helps reduce annoying feedback,

Lisa Myrick: There's a whistling sound, or a feedback sound, that a hearing aid can make, and with this hearing aid it has a cancellation process that allows the feedback to be managed automatically again.

Jennifer Matthews: Roy enjoys his new aid, because he can control the levels to make himself more comfortable,

Roy Baldwin: I even have a button for a telephone where I can talk over the telephone. It also has one just for music that makes the music more full.

Jennifer Matthews: Now, Roy says the world around him is crystal clear. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.