Hearing Aids

BTE aids have all the electronics housed in a casing that sits behind the ear. There is then some tubing that connects with aids itself to a component the directs the sound down the ear canal and anchors the aid to your ear. These hearing aids offer great flexibility in terms of the hearing losses and ear anatomies they are appropriate for. They have the added bonus of not having electronics in the ear which means they are less prone to damage from wax and therefore more robust.

BTE’s come in three main types, open-fit BTE’s, standard BTE’s and power BTE’s. An open fit BTE uses a discreet slim tube to deliver the sound into your ear canal. This type of fitting is generally used for a high frequency hearing loss. A standard BTE has a thicker tube to deliver the sound into the ear canal than an open fit BTE which makes it appropriate for more significant hearing losses. A power BTE also uses the thicker tubing to deliver the sound in the ear but is bigger and more powerful than a standard BTE making it appropriate for severe to profound hearing losses.

Custom hearing aids are those where all of the electronics are housed in the ear itself. They are custom made to fit your ear. They come in different sizes from Invisible-In-Canal (IIC) aids which are very small and sit deep in the ear canal up, to In-The-Ear (ITE) aids which fill up the entire ear. There are also Completely-In-The-Canal aids which come out to the entrance of the ear canal and In-The-Canal aids which fill up part of the ear.

While custom hearing aids can be a discreet solution and may be the most appropriate option for ears with malformations, they may not be appropriate for small or bendy ears or those with wax issues.

There are a range of accessories that can be used in conjunction with your hearing aids that can help with specific situations such as meetings, restaurants and using the phone. The use of these accessories can extend the functionality of your hearing aids.

Assistive listening devices (ALD’s) may be used as an alternative to hearing aids. For example, a TV device with a set of headphones may be the best option for someone whose only concern is hearing the TV better.