Types of hearing aids

Types of hearing aids

Hearing imparity is a condition that most people acquire with age. As you grow older, your senses seem to become dull and you start to lose your imperial senses like tasting, smelling, and hearing. A hearing aid is usually adopted by senior citizens to improve their hearing abilities. There are different types of hearing aids that the senior citizen can choose from. There are broadly two types – analog and digital. The digital hearing aids have extended functions like noise cancellation. The analog hearing aids have become highly unpopular since the introduction of digital hearing aids. Let us look at the types of hearing aids in detail:

• Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids: The mechanism of this hearing aid fits behind the ear. The sound from this hearing aid is transmitted into the opening of the ear canal. The hearing aid – the electronic mechanisms – are designed in such a way that they fit the curvature of the ear perfectly, making them comfortable to be worn for a long time. The sound can reach the ear canal, electronically, through the smaller speaker that is placed at the opening of the ear canal or acoustically, traveling through the plastic tubing into the ear canal.
• In-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids: These devices are technologically designed to transfer the sound to the outer part of the ear canal. As the name suggests, they sit inside the ear on the outer part of the ear. They are designed to fit the natural inner curvature of the ear. All the components of this hearing aid are packed in a small package and they fit well into the ear.
• In-the-canal (ITC) hearing aids: These devices are smaller than the other two and fit, partially or entirely, into the ear canal. The entire mechanism of this hearing aid is packed in a small plastic device. It is almost invisible, as it sits inside the ear canal; although the completely-in-the-canal (CITC) fits entirely in the ear and is invisible. These devices are slightly more expensive than the other two types.