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How To Choose A Hearing Aid

hearing aid

What is a hearing aid?

A hearing aid is a small electronic device placed behind or in your ear to help you hear sounds better. It contains a small microphone, amplifier, and speaker. The microphone receives sound and changes it into an electrical signal. The amplifier increases the loudness of the signal. The speaker receives the signal, changes it back to sound waves, and transmits the sound waves to your inner ear. A hearing aid is used by people who have mild or moderate hearing loss. While a hearing aid can help you hear better, you may not be able to hear perfectly even with an aid. Even using hearing aids, you still may have trouble hearing well when there is noise around you, such as in a restaurant or at a concert.

What are the types of hearing aids?

The type of aid may depend on the type of hearing loss you have, and other factors. When choosing a hearing aid, pick an aid that helps you hear as well as possible. Avoid choosing a hearing aid just because it cannot be seen in your ear. The following are types of hearing aids:

Behind The Ear (BTE)

hearing aid

Behind-the-ear hearing aids hook over the top of your ear and rest behind the ear. The hearing aid picks up sound, amplifies it and carries the amplified sound to an ear mold that fits inside your ear canal. This type of aid is appropriate for almost all types of hearing loss and for people of all ages.

Features of BTE hearing aid:

  • Capable of more amplification than are other hearing aid styles
  • Feedback is not often a problem with this aid.
  • It has larger controls and dials, so may be better than other aids if you cannot use your fingers well when working with small objects.

In The Ear (ITE)

hearing aid

An in-the-ear hearing aid is custom made and fills most of the bowl-shaped area of your outer ear. This style is helpful for people with mild to severe hearing loss.

Features of ITE hearing aid:

  • More visible to others
  • May pick up wind noise
  • You will need to be able to do small tasks with your fingers to use this hearing aid
  • Feedback may be a problem

In The Canal (ITC)

hearing aid

An in-the-canal hearing aid is custom molded and fits partly in the ear canal, but not as deeply as the completely-in-the-canal aid. This hearing aid can improve mild to moderate hearing loss in adults.

Features of ITC hearing aid:

  • Less visible in the ear
  • Includes features that won’t fit on completely-in-the-canal aids, but the small size can make the features difficult to adjust
  • May not fit well in smaller ears
  • You will need to be able to do small tasks with your fingers to use this hearing aid
  • Feedback may be a problem.
  • Can be damaged by ear wax or drainage

Completely In Canal (CIC)

hearing aid

Completely-in-canal hearing aids are molded to fit inside your ear canal and can improve mild to moderate hearing loss in adults.

Features of CIC hearing aid:

  • The least noticeable in the ear
  • Less likely to pick up wind noise because the ear protects the instrument
  • Easy to use with the telephone in most cases
  • Uses smaller batteries, which typically don’t last as long as larger batteries
  • Doesn’t contain extra features, such as volume control or directional microphones
  • You will need to be able to do small tasks with your fingers to use this hearing aid.
  • Can be damaged by ear wax or drainage.

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