The present invention provides a hearing aid in which at least one portion
of an input sound signal is divided into a frequency band signal, and a
single or a plurality of the frequency band signals are subjected to
noise to generate a Noise-Vocoded Speech Sound signal, which a user can
hear. Such a hearing aid facilitates activation of the brain and is
expected to provide an effect on treatment or training of people with a
neural disorder. Such a hearing aid lets a Noise-Vocoded Speech Sound
signal recognized by utilizing normal portions of the brain to the
maximum level and the Noise-Vocoded Speech Sound signal is compensated
for by other normal portions of the brain, in order to let a person with
hearing difficulty understand the meaning of the input sound.