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Understanding Hearing Aid Types and Styles

By gahear on December 27, 2021 in Hearing Aids For Sale , Hearing Loss

The thought of being able to hear clearly is certainly exciting, but choosing the right hearing aid is paramount to maintaining that excitement while wearing it. After all, with as much time as you will spend with your hearing aid, it’s important that it’s comfortable, makes you feel good, and provides you with reliable service. Each type of hearing aid has pros and cons to consider, but more importantly, not every type is suitable for everyone. This guide will give you the information you need to make the right choice.

Types of Hearing Aids

Hearing aids are either going to be placed in your ear or placed outside of your ear. Choosing between these two locations isn’t strictly a cosmetic choice. There are important features of each that will determine which type is right.

Hearing Aids for Inside the Ear

There are three types of hearing aids that go inside your ear. They are:

• In the Ear (ITE)
• In the Canal (ITC)
• Completely in the Canal (CIC)

ITE hearing aids completely fill the ear cavity. This makes them large and, unfortunately, noticeable. Luckly, these days many hearing aids come in different skin tones so they are less noticeable.

The ITC hearing aids fill the ear canal rather than the entire ear cavity while CIC hearing aids are inside the ear canal and are barely visible. While the last two may seem more desirable because they are less noticeable, they are also very small and can could be difficult to handle. Their batteries are smaller so they’ll need to be charged or changed more often.

Choosing between ITE, ITC, or CIC hearing aids comes down to your level of comfort with the visibility of your hearing aid. However, if your dexterity is a concern, you may want to stick with the larger ITE hearing aids.

Hearing Aids for Outside the Ear

Hearing aids that are made for outside the ear are placed behind your ear and have a tube/wire that runs into your ear canal. They can also come in skin tone colors, but are still more noticeable than ITE or ITC hearing aids. Hearing aids for outside the ear are called Behind the Ear (BTE) or Mini BTE hearing aids. Keep in mind that, with the mini BTE hearing aids, size may be a problem for some wearers.

Other Considerations When Choosing a Hearing Aid

There are a few main points to consider before choosing a hearing aid. One of them is how easy you want the selection to be. Hearing aids for inside the ear must be custom-fitted to your ear shape and size, so there are some extra steps as well as extra costs to get this type of hearing aid. Hearing aids for outside the ear can fit almost any ear type and can be much more cost efficient. That makes BTE hearing aids great for kids whose ears rapidly change as they age.

Consider the fact that BTE hearing aids are much better for people with severe hearing loss. They also work better with wireless devices if you’re the type of person that likes to use apps to communicate with your device.

Overall, both types of hearing aids have their pros and cons. Choosing one can be tedious, but with the help of your otolaryngologist, you’ll narrow the choice down to the perfect one. You can find the help you need at one of Georgia Hearing Aid Factory Outlet’s three convenient locations. Contact us today to learn more!