Once you’ve seen an audiologist and been tested for hearing loss, your doctor may decide you could benefit from hearing aids. There are a wide variety of hearing aid manufacturers and types of hearing aids, which may make the process of choosing a hearing aid seem overwhelming. There are three major questions to consider when it comes to choosing your hearing aid:
- What options are available to me?
- Which type will best fit my lifestyle?
- How do I adjust to my new hearing aid?
The three main styles of hearing aids are Receiver-in-the-Ear (RITE), Behind-the-Ear (BTE), and custom hearing aids which are fitted by taking an earmold impression of the ear and can come in various sizes. Receiver-in-the-Ear (RITE) hearing aids consist of a dome and speaker which sits inside of the ear canal which is connected by a thin wire to the hearing aid portion which sits behind the ear. Behind-the-Ear (BTE) hearing aids consist of a custom earmold which sits inside of the ear canal and in the concha. The hearing aid sits behind the ear and is connected to the earmold by a tube. Custom hearing aids include completely-in-canal (CIC), which are fitted entirely in the ear canal; in-the-canal (ITC), which fits partially in the ear canal; in-the-ear (ITE), which sits in the concha of the outer ear.
At a hearing aid evaluation, the audiologist will base their recommendations for an appropriate hearing aid based on your audiogram and lifestyle. From there, the patient will choose a hearing aid based on these recommendations. A patient may choose a hearing aid based on appearance and functionality. For example, completely in-canal and in-the-canal hearing aids are not highly visible, but also do not include directional microphones. The smaller devices cannot hold as large of batteries and may not help with moderately severe to severe hearing loss. In-the-ear and behind-the-ear hearing aids, though may be more visible, can be more effective for those with profound deafness.
Adjusting to your new hearing aid takes time. The hearing aid will be programmed based on your audiogram, Real-Ear-Measurement (REM) testing and your unique hearing needs, which will help ease the adjustment period.