Old style hearing aids are now known as body worn aids. They were
relatively large devices about the size of a deck of cards. Body
worn aids are seldom used anymore, except occasionally in the case
of very severe hearing loss. The most common hearing aid type today
is the behind the ear aid, or BTE. A behind the ear hearing aid
consists of a case that clips behind the ear and is connected
directly by plastic sound tubes to a custom molded earpiece. BTE’s
are generally more suitable for children, as they are more durable
and easier to adapt as the child grows. The next type of hearing
aid is the in the ear or ITE hearing aid. These aids fit in the
outer ear bowl and can be visible. They are the most comfortable,
least expensive, and easiest to use of the custom fitted hearing
aids. Smaller that the in the ear hearing aid is the in the canal,
or ITC hearing aid. These aids are usually more expensive than
ITE’s, and are also harder to adjust owing to the small size of the
volume wheel. Even smaller than the ITC’s are the mini canal, or
MC, hearing aid. These are the smallest hearing aid you can get
that still have a volume adjustment wheel. The tiniest hearing
aids made are the completely in the canal, or CIC hearing aids.
They fit so deeply into the ear that they require a removal string.
CIC’s do not usually have manual controls simply because of their
size.
relatively large devices about the size of a deck of cards. Body
worn aids are seldom used anymore, except occasionally in the case
of very severe hearing loss. The most common hearing aid type today
is the behind the ear aid, or BTE. A behind the ear hearing aid
consists of a case that clips behind the ear and is connected
directly by plastic sound tubes to a custom molded earpiece. BTE’s
are generally more suitable for children, as they are more durable
and easier to adapt as the child grows. The next type of hearing
aid is the in the ear or ITE hearing aid. These aids fit in the
outer ear bowl and can be visible. They are the most comfortable,
least expensive, and easiest to use of the custom fitted hearing
aids. Smaller that the in the ear hearing aid is the in the canal,
or ITC hearing aid. These aids are usually more expensive than
ITE’s, and are also harder to adjust owing to the small size of the
volume wheel. Even smaller than the ITC’s are the mini canal, or
MC, hearing aid. These are the smallest hearing aid you can get
that still have a volume adjustment wheel. The tiniest hearing
aids made are the completely in the canal, or CIC hearing aids.
They fit so deeply into the ear that they require a removal string.
CIC’s do not usually have manual controls simply because of their
size.
A feature available on many hearing aids is the telecoil. Telecoils
allow the hearing aid to pick up magnetic signals and process them
as audio signal. Telecoils were originally developed to help those
with hearing aids use the telephone. Older telephone produced
fairly strong magnetic fields in their earpieces, which could be
picked up by the telecoil. Modern phones do not normally produce
strong enough magnetic fields, but many phones and other devices
are equipped to transmit to a telecoil anyway. Most users find
that the telecoil provides better sound quality and allow the user
to more easily concentrate on the desired sound, despite any
background noise.