Hearing Aids & Products

Hearing Aid Descriptions

To help you determine which type of hearing instrument is best for you, your hearing healthcare professional will walk you through a number of considerations, including:

• Degree of hearing loss: not all styles and technologies are appropriate for all hearing losses
• Ear anatomy: some ear canals are very tiny, making it almost impossible to fit a completely-in-the-canal style (CIC)
• Lifestyle: your different listening environments will help dictate the best hearing instrument to meet your needs
• Manual dexterity: CIC, ITC, and crossover styles are easy to insert, but require steady hands
• Design preference: choose from a wide variety of styles, colors and sizes
• Budget: a wide range of prices to fit every budget

	In the ear aids (ITE) These devices fit in the outer ear bowl (called the concha); they are sometimes visible when standing face to face with someone. ITE hearing aids are custom made to fit each individual's ear. They can be used in mild to some severe hearing losses.
	Behind the ear aids (BTE) BTE aids consist of a case, a tube and an ear mold. The case is small and made of plastic. Generally, the case sits behind the pinna (ear) with the tube coming down the front into the ear mold. The case contains the amplification system. The sound is routed from the hearing aid case to the ear mold via the tube.
	In the canal (ITC) ITC aids are smaller, filling only the bottom half of the external ear. The aid cannot be seen when face to face with the wearer. MIC and CIC aids are generally not visible unless the viewer looks directly into the wearer's ear.
	(CIC) Invisible In canal hearing aids (IIC) This type of hearing aid fitting is not visible when worn. This is because it fits deeper in the canal than other types, so that it is out of view even when looking directly in to the ear bowl (concha). A comfortable fit is achieved because the shell of the aid is custom-made to an individual ear canal after taking a mold of the patient’s ear. Invisible hearing aid types use venting and their deep placement in the ear canal to give a more natural experience of hearing. Unlike other hearing aid types, with the IIC aid the majority of the ear is not blocked (occluded) by a large plastic shell. This means that sound can be collected more naturally by the shape of the ear, and can travel down in to the ear canal as it would with unassisted hearing.
	Open-fit devices "Open-fit" or "Over-the-Ear" OTE hearing aids are small behind-the-ear type devices. This type is characterized by a minimal amount of effect on the ear canal resonances, as it traditionally leaves the ear canal as open as possible, often only being plugged up by a small speaker resting in the middle of the ear canal space. Traditionally, these hearing aids have a small plastic case behind the ear and a small clear tube running into the ear canal. Inside the ear canal, a small soft silicone dome or a molded, highly vented acrylic tip holds the tube in place. This design is intended to reduce the occlusion effect
	Swimmers Molds Keep water out of your ears with swimmers molds like these.
	Custom Ear Plugs These are for anyone exposed to unsafe noise levels… comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
	Electronic Shooters Protections Guard against damaging noises while they allow you to hear normally.
	Musicians Ear Plugs Designed to reduce harmful noise while allowing the user to hear the full range of music and sound.