On the hunt for a hearing aid? Finding the right type and style for you depends on your degree of hearing loss, your lifestyle preferences, and cosmetic concerns.Open Fit Digital Hearing Aid
As a starting point, there are two basic types of hearing aids, all of which are used mostly for mild to moderate hearing loss that's occurring in both ears. ITE aids are worn in the ear canal and are usually custom-fit, based on an impression that is taken by your hearing care professional at the time of your hearing aid consultation. These styles are typically available in different skin tones to blend with the outer ear. Some types of ITE hearing aids fit very deeply within the ear canal, while others are closer to the outer ear.
BTE aids sit behind or on top of the outer ear with tubing that routes the sound down into the ear canal via a custom-fit earmold or a dome style that doesn’t block the entire ear canal opening. BTE styles are available in different colors to match hair or skin tone, as well as flashier designs for personalized flair.
For either ITE or BTE, most devices come with standard button
batteries that must be replaced anywhere from 3-20 days. However,
rechargeable batteries are becoming more common. Learn more about the
pros and cons of rechargeable batteries.
IIC and CIC styles are the
smallest and most discreet hearing aids available. "Invisible in the
canal" IIC styles are as described—virtually invisible. A wearer places
them very deeply in the ears, and they must be removed by tugging on a
small pull-out string. "Completely in the canal" CIC are very similar,
but don't sit quite so deeply within the ears.
These styles are typically fit for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. Because of their small size, they don’t usually come with any manual controls, like volume wheels or program buttons.
