Hearing Aids And Types

A hearing aid is a highly sophisticated communication device.There are many different types of hearing aids, just as there are many forms of hearing loss but they share five basic components. All of them work on amplifying sounds to enhance particular hearing range problems.

The design can vary but the overall effect is to empower you to live your life to the very fullest.

How a hearing aid works?

• Microphone picks up sounds
• Sounds are analyzed by the processing chip
• Processed sounds are sent to the amplifier
• Amplified sounds are sent to the loudspeaker
• Sounds are transmitted by the loudspeaker into the inner ear where they are transformed into electrical impulses
• Impulses are picked up by the brain where they are processed.

Behind the ear hearing aids are shown above

The classic behind-the-ear model (BTE) is the choice if you have a severe hearing loss or if you have very small ear canals, which makes it difficult to fit an entire hearing aid into your ear.All the electronic components of a classic BTE model are located in a housing placed behind your ear.A slim plastic tube with an earmould in the end directs the amplified sound from the hearing aid into your ear. Manual controls for volume and program change are placed on the top side of the hearing aid for easy user access.
Depending on the model, BTE hearing aids can moreover often be fitted with an open fit solution. This means that the ear-tip is made with compensatory measures so as to optimize the sound processing.

An in-the-ear hearing aid (ITE) is shown above

An in-the-ear model (ITE) is suitable if you have a mild to severe hearing loss. The ITE has all its electronic components contained within a plastic shell moulded to fit your ear. The ITE model is placed in the ear canal, but with the faceplate still visible in the concha of your ear. The size - as well as the visibility - of the ITE depends on your degree of hearing loss and the shape of your ear canals. The ITE comes with optional user controls for program and volume change on the outside shell plate.

Completely Inside the Canal (CIC) hearing aids are shown above

The CIC is the smallest model in hearing aids and is especially suitable if you have a mild to moderate hearing loss. It is a custom made shell that contains all the electronic components. The shell is placed deeply in the ear canal, making the hearing aid almost invisible. A CIC therefore has a big aesthetic advantage: No one can actually see that you are wearing a hearing aid. For easy everyday removal, the CIC has a small extension cord attached to the outside. A CIC model works fully automatically.

Receiver inside the Ear (RITE) hearing aids are shown above

The receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) model is a newer development in hearing aids and is suitable for mild to severe hearing loss.
Compared to a classic behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid, the receiver of the RITE (the loudspeaker) is placed in the ear-tip instead of in the housing, thereby reducing its size.
The RITE model consists of three parts: The housing, which sits behind the ear, and a thin earwire connecting the housing to the receiver. The receiver is placed in the concha of the ear.
The RITE model is a very discreet, and yet powerful hearing aid, which works fully automatically