BEHIND-THE-EAR (BTE)
Often considered big and noticeable, this style can be small and inconspicuous and has many acoustical benefits. The hearing aid sits behind the ear and the sound is channeled to the ear via an earmold. The custom earmold allows for less occlusion effect (a plugged up feeling) and also enhances high frequencies. In addition, whistling or feedback can be controlled more easily. The Behind-the-Ear hearing instruments generally have fewer repairs and therefore last longer than smaller in-the-ear versions. This hearing aid can be utilized for all hearing loss ranges (slight through profound hearing losses).
MICRO BEHIND-THE-EAR
This style of a behind-the-ear hearing aid was designed to be extremely cosmetically appealing. It is not typically a custom fit product, so no impressions of the ear are necessary.
IN-THE-EAR (ITE) – FULL SHELL
The entire hearing aid sits in the bowl of the outer portion of the ear. This style may be better than a smaller in-the-canal hearing instrument for those who may have difficulty with vision or dexterity. The size of the battery is larger and tends to last longer than in smaller hearing aids. A telephone coil can be added to eliminate whistling when using a telephone. This hearing aid can be utilized for slight/mild to severe hearing loss ranges.
IN-THE-EAR (ITE) – HALF SHELL
This is a smaller version of the full shell. It fills up the bottom half of the bowl of the outer ear. The upper area of the outer ear, called the helix, is left empty. The battery is smaller, and battery life may be less than it is in the full shell. This hearing aid can be utilized for slight/mild to severe hearing loss ranges.
IN-THE-EAR (ITE) - CANAL
This is a smaller version of the half shell. It fills up less of the ear so that it is not as noticeable. This hearing aid can be utilized for slight/mild to moderately-severe hearing loss ranges. This is usually the smallest size hearing aid that can accommodate directional microphone technology.
COMPLETELY-IN-THE-CANAL (CIC)
The smallest and least visible, this hearing aid sits entirely in the ear canal. In many ears, the hearing aid cannot be seen at all. Due to varying sizes of ear canals, the CIC may appear smaller on some ears than on others. The volume is preset therefore, there is no volume control. In most cases, there is no whistling when using the telephone, making telephone use very easy. CIC’s can accommodate mild to moderately-severe hearing losses. It is also a very good option for those with high frequency hearing loss. There are some disadvantages of this model. It has the highest repair rate due to the small parts. It uses the smallest size battery, which will only last approximately 3-5 days. It cannot accommodate directional microphones to help in a background noise situation.
