Types of Hearing Aids

Types of Hearing Aids

Hearing aids have come a long way from the proverbial ear trumpet. You now have choices that range from completely invisible in the ear hearing aids to the conventional over the ear hearing devices. The number of options is almost overwhelming, which is why we’re providing you an overview here.

Ultimately which type of hearing aid you buy depends on your hearing needs and your lifestyle. The best way to select the right one of the hundreds of hearing aids available today is to get guidance from your local hearing experts.

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The Newest Hearing Aids

The digital revolution has made a huge impact on the way hearing aids look, feel and function. They can be so small that they are virtually invisible, so “cool” looking that you will want everyone to see them and so natural sounding, they mimic the way you used to hear before you experienced hearing loss.

It’s no secret why digital hearing aids account for most hearing aids sold today. The quality of sound is amazing. Once you try a pair, you’ll see why they’re often the best choice.

Which Type of Hearing Aid Is Right for You?

No one wants hearing aids that makes them look like they have an appliance strapped to their head. Seriously, our patients tell us they don’t want anyone to notice their hearing aids. They want hearing aids that work well but are discreet.

Below we review the primary styles along with our recommendations:

Behind the Ear (BTE) Hearing Aids

This type of hearing aid can be beneficial for people of all ages and degrees of hearing loss.

BTE hearing aids are designed to give your ears an incredible boost in power. The hard plastic casing fits directly behind the top of your ear in a place where it is easily hidden by your hair.

The custom earmold is shaped to match the exact contours of your ear canal, and can be ordered in a variety of colors, including clear, pink, and tan, to decrease visibility even more. The BTE has a wide variety of programming features and options that may be customized to meet your hearing needs.

In the Canal (IC) Hearing Aids

Our IC hearing aids are our smallest, most invisible custom hearing aid products. These amplification devices are designed to fit snugly into your ear canal. The hard plastic casing is tiny, ranging anywhere between 1-3 cm long. It’s just that small!

The Completely in the Canal (CIC) hearing aids are even smaller. These are designed to fit even deeper into the ear canal, resulting in a really invisible fit closer to the eardrum. CICs come with standard features and may have wireless capability. Both styles of hearing aids are beneficial for individuals with mild to moderately severe hearing losses.

In the Ear (ITE) Hearing Aids

This type of hearing aid is especially helpful for individuals with disabilities or dexterity challenges and can meet the hearing needs of individuals with mild to severe hearing losses.

ITE hearing aids are true custom-designed hearing aids in which the entire hearing aid is molded to match the contours of your outer ear. It provides great amplification and you won’t have to worry about this hearing aid slipping off or falling out. The hard plastic casing forms to the exact shape of your ear making a nice and snug fit.

Many features may be added to this hearing aid to make it hassle free including telecoil, ear to ear communication and automatic programming. The ITE hearing aid may be ordered in a variety of colors to match your skin tone including pink, beige, cocoa and brown.

Extended Wear Hearing Aids

Think invisible and almost maintenance-free! This type of hearing aid combines the concealment of our in-the-canal hearing aids with the ultimate convenience of extended wear.

These hearing aids can be worn for 24 hours/day for months at a time, without having to worry about charging or replacing the batteries. This style is best suited for those with mild to moderately severe hearing loss, and the close proximity of the hearing aids to the eardrum ensures optimal sound while reducing distortion and background noise.

Receiver in the Ear (RIC) Hearing Aids

This type of hearing aid can easily be tailored to meet the needs of individuals with mild to severe hearing losses.

Our RIC hearing aids are perfect for the active adult. The directional microphone technology makes it easier to understand conversations in crowded environments by detecting and amplifying the target speech signal and decreasing the background noise.

Visibility isn’t a problem. You can attend business meetings, parties, and other social events without anyone even knowing that you are wearing hearing aids. The small hard plastic casing on this device is often hidden behind the ear or underneath your hair.

The ultra-thin wire picks up sound and carries it directly into a speaker, which fits invisibly into the ear canal. The RIC hearing aid can come with many programming features, including telecoil, automatic programming, volume or programming controls, and alert signals. It can also come with accessories that activate the Bluetooth compatibility. With Bluetooth, you can easily connect your RIC hearing aids to your phone, your iPad, or even your car.

Special Hearing Aid Features

Many of our devices come with special programming features, including noise management programs, automatic adjustments, ear-to-ear communication, function controls, directional microphones, wireless Bluetooth controls, music programs, and telecoil. These features help make communication much easier. The telecoil feature is also useful in public facilities with induction loop systems. Consult with our hearing professionals to determine which features are best for you!

Are Assistive Listening Devices the Solution?

A range of assistive listening devices is available to help people with distinctive hearing needs. They fall into these general categories:

Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs)

Assistive listening devices (ALDs) help amplify the sounds you want to hear, especially where there’s a lot of background noise. ALDs can be used with a hearing aid or cochlear implant to help a wearer hear certain sounds better.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices (AAC)

Augmentative and alternative communication devices (AAC) help people with communication disorders to express themselves. These devices can range from a simple picture board to a computer program that synthesizes speech from text.

Alerting Devices

Alerting devices connect to a doorbell, telephone, or alarm that emits a loud sound or blinking light to let someone with hearing loss know that an event is taking place.

Assistive listening devices typically use a microphone to capture an audio source near its origin and broadcast it wirelessly to over an FM (Frequency Modulation) transmission, IR (Infra Red) transmission, IL (Induction Loop) transmission, or other transmission method.

FM systems use radio signals to transmit amplified sounds up to 300 feet. That makes them useful in many public places, such as classrooms, where the instructor wears a small microphone connected to a transmitter, and the student listens via a worn receiver, which is tuned to a specific frequency or channel.

Infrared systems use infrared light to transmit sound. Unlike induction loop or FM systems, the infrared system's signal cannot pass through walls, making it particularly useful in courtrooms, where confidential information is often discussed, and in buildings where competing signals can be a problem, such as classrooms or movie theaters. However, infrared systems cannot be used in environments with too many competing light sources, such as outdoors or in strongly lit rooms.

Personal amplifiers are useful in places where the above systems are unavailable or when watching TV, being outdoors, or traveling in a car. About the size of a cell phone, these devices increase sound levels and reduce background noise for a listener. Some have directional microphones that can be angled toward a speaker or other source of sound. As with other ALDs, the amplified sound can be picked up by a receiver that the listener is wearing, either as a headset or as earbuds.

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