Prior to contacting a licensed hearing care professional, familiarizing yourself with the different types of hearing aids is helpful, especially if you’re new to the world of hearing devices.
If you have recently been diagnosed with hearing loss or suspect that your hearing has deteriorated, you may benefit from wearing a hearing aid. Hearing aids are small electronic devices used to amplify sounds to enable you to hear better. There are hearing aids suited to most types of hearing loss and fitting, style, feature and cosmetic preferences.
If you have never used a hearing aid before, the choice can seem somewhat overwhelming. To help you make sense of the complex world of hearing aids, here is a brief guide to the different types of hearing aids on the market and the advantages and disadvantages of each style.
The RIC hearing aid has a much smaller speaker than previous hearing aid models situated directly in the ear canal. This allows sound to travel a much shorter distance from the speaker thought the ear canal and eardrum. This provides a much more complete and clearer sound. Meanwhile, the longer distance between the receiver and the microphone provides less feedback. This type of hearing aid is suited to mild to severe hearing loss.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Perhaps the most recognisable of hearing aids is the BTE hearing aid with its case made of hard plastic that sits behind the ear. This contains all the components of the hearing aid and is connected to a customised earmold that sits inside your outer ear. This type of hearing aid is suitable for a person with moderate to severe hearing loss.
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Disadvantages
The CIC hearing aid is an incredibly small and discreet hearing aid that is put inside your ear canal. They have a small cord or handle attached to remove the hearing aid with. This type of hearing aid is suitable for you if your hearing loss is mild to moderately severe.
Advantages
Disadvantages
The ITC hearing aid is custom moulded to your inner ear canal for a reliable and comfortable fit. This also enables the sound to pass through the device. This type of hearing aid would benefit people with mild to moderate hearing loss.
Disadvantages
Lyric from Phonak is the only completely invisible hearing aid available at the moment. It relies on the structure of your ear to amplify and provide you with a complete natural hearing experience. Beneficial to those with mild to moderate hearing loss, an IIC can only be inserted by a hearing care professional as it needs to be placed deep in the ear canal.
Advantages
Disadvantages
This unique hearing aid uses laser light to sends power and data to a small personalised lens that sits on your eardrum to create natural hearing. This hearing aid technology sits between an air-conduction hearing aid (an acoustic receiver that magnifies the sound that vibrates the eardrum) and a middle ear implant (device surgically implanted that vibrates the middle ear bones). Suited to people with a mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss, the output calibration of the hearing aid is personalised for each user using light calibration.
Advantages
Disadvantages
If you are worried about your hearing or think you may benefit from using a hearing aid then schedule a consultation with a hearing care professional and they will be able to guide you through the process.
It's time to finally treat your hearing loss. Sign up for a free consultation with a licensed hearing care professional today to determine if you have hearing loss. It’s the start of your journey towards better hearing.
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