Technology has infiltrated every facet of our lives, and although we long to get away from it sometimes, there is no doubt that bits, bytes and gigahertz can be useful.

Take hearing aids for example.

When Richard Owens started using hearing aids 20 years ago, they were nothing more than amplifiers.

Today, thanks to sophisticated technology, Owens’ hearing aid can be customized with such precision it almost duplicates natural hearing.

“I volunteer at the lighthouse once a week and climb the tower,” Owens said. “I used to take my hearing aids out sometimes because I couldn’t talk to people — the wind was blowing so hard. Now I don’t have to.”

Hearing specialist Joseph Pezak said background noise is a common complaint for hearing aid users, but thanks to revolutionary technology, that problem has been eliminated.

Introduced to consumers in February of this year, Beltone First is capable of streaming high-quality stereo sound from a smartphone or tablet without the need for a pendant-like device, but being wireless is just one advantage.

Because Beltone First is controlled with smartphone technology, wearers can use their hearing aids to talk on the phone or listen to music.

And of course there’s an app. The Beltone HearPlus app allows users to set the volume levels and treble/bass settings, but it can also be used to locate the hearing aid if lost.

Using GPS technology, someone who has lost their hearing aid can hold their smartphone over the area where they think they lost the device, and the phone will let them know whether they are getting closer to or farther from the hearing aid — just like a game of hot and cold.

Pezak said of all the benefits of the new device, clarity is the most important.

“With the smartphone we can give clarity down to frequencies we could never hit before,” Pezak said. “Everything can give power, but we can give clarity.”

Owens doesn’t use a smartphone, so his hearing aid is operated with a remote control, which he said comes in handy sometimes.

The other day, my wife and I were talking in a restaurant, and the guy next to me was talking so loud,” Owens said. I took my remote control out and cut out my right ear, so I didn’t hear him.”

For information on Beltone First hearing aids, go to beltoneflorida.com.