Understanding Hearing Aid Styles

Your hearing health is important to your daily life. Whether communicating with family, friends or coworkers, the ability to hear clearly and easily is important in building relationships. If you’ve had a hearing test and been diagnosed with hearing loss, your audiologist likely recommended hearing aids as the best form of treatment. Perhaps you don’t know what to expect; will they cost too much? Will they really help all that much? How do you even pick out the right kind?

When you’re selecting your hearing aids, consider the following three tips to help you settle on the right ones for your particular needs and wants.

Depending on the severity of your hearing loss, there are three main styles of hearing aids you can choose from (with several customizable options within those categories). To determine which style is most appealing and most compatible with your hearing loss, let’s learn a little more about each one:

In-the-canal (ITC) hearing aids

These are the smallest and most private devices out of the bunch. They can sit entirely in the ear canal or further near the outer part of your ear. In addition to the discreteness they provide, they also offer a natural listening experience since they sit deeper inside your ear. ITC hearing aids are ideal for individuals with mild-to-moderate hearing loss and those with no dexterity issues since they’re small and can be difficult to handle.

In-the-ear (ITE) devices

These devices also offer discreteness, while being easier to handle than ITC hearing aids. ITE devices sit in on the outer portion of your ear and come in a variety of colors to offer even more privacy. These hearing aids are suitable for people with mild-to-moderately-severe hearing loss.

Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids

BTE hearing aids are possibly the most well-known style and also one of the most popular. While they’re not as discrete as some of the other style options, they do have several features to help make them more private, such as mini versions and flesh-tone color selections. These devices have a body that sits behind your ear, with another piece being worn in your ear connected by tubing. BTE hearing aids are appropriate for individuals with mild-to-severe hearing loss and can be easily handled.

Talk to your audiologist

When it comes time for you to select the right hearing aids, make sure to discuss your list of wants and needs with your audiologist. Your audiologist will help make recommendations based on the results of your hearing test, but will also factor your desires in as well. Regardless which hearing aid style you select, be confident you will have not only improved hearing, but quality of life as well!