Because of the busy lives we have, we often find ourselves pressed for time, surrounded by trivial problems which leads to taking essential things for granted. For an instant think just how important hearing is: being able to hear your loved ones, the sound of laughter, the sound of raindrops on your window and the songs of birds. Having this in mind, it is advisable to get hearing assessment check-ups every now and then since life in noisy environments makes us less perceptive of how loud and damaging all of that noise can be for our ears. This is mainly the reason there is an increasing number of people who face hearing loss and the alarming point is that a great percentage includes young people.
Most of the hearing problems can be prevented or fixed if detected in time. With the fast-growing technology, a lot of groundbreaking designs in hearing aids help make this less of a problem. There is a huge variety of hearing aides to choose from, and they differ in degree of hearing loss and their style. Here are some of the most popular ones – from mild, moderate and severe hearing loss aids to the ones that feature a style that depends on visibility.
If hearing loss is in the range of mild to moderate, the devices are: In The Canal (ITC), Completely In Canal (CIC) and Receiver In Canal (RIC) and Receiver In The Ear (RITE).
ITC and CIC hearing aids are suitable in cases of either low or high frequency loss, whereas the RIC and RITE are primarily made for high frequency loss. These four types also vary in their shapes and sizes. While ITC and CIC are aids small in size, are barely noticeable and consist of a single piece, the RIC and RITE are bigger and have three parts: the housing, the receiver and a wire connecting both. Some may not choose them, however, because of the placement of the housing which makes them more visible.
When it is the case of severe hearing loss, Behind The Ear (BTE) is the right choice because of its abilities to provide powerful sound and is easier to maintain when it comes to batteries. BTE may be most comfortable because of the materials the earmold is made of and it fits any ear perfectly as it is custom-made.
Based on style and visibility, there are Invisible In Canal (IIC) and Open Fit hearing aids. The IIC are the best option when it comes to discretion. They are placed directly in the ear canal, even deeper than the CIC. Just like the BTE, they are custom-made to fit the exact shape of a person’s ear canal. The Open Fit type, as we can guess by the name, is a visible hearing aid whose housing is placed behind the ear, connected to the tip with a small wire. Its best asset is the quality of sound it produces.
Apart from the models mentioned above, of course, there are new kinds of hearing aides with advanced technology constantly emerging, among which the Bluetooth and Wireless. The Bluetooth design accesses a Bluetooth connection be it with a computer, mobile phone or a TV and can stream sound directly. The Wireless hearing aids sync well so the quality of sound matches in both ears and they also may have access to a connection, even with a Bluetooth. In other words, there are hearing aids created to match all preferences.