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Hearing
Instruments
Consumer Guide to Hearing
Instruments
When purchasing a new hearing
instrument there are more choices than ever before. There are more
than 100 different manufacturers of hearing aids and over 800 models
of hearing instruments available. Because hearing loss has a variety
of patterns and degrees of severity and affects people in different
ways, no single hearing aid is right for everyone. At Worth Hearing
Center we offer products from the leading laboratories from around
the world. Our hearing aids can be serviced right here in our
office, in many other locations around the country and around the
world.
Hearing Aid Shapes and Sizes
Completely-in-the-Canal (CIC) hearing aids
are tiny custom hearing aids that fit deeply into the ear canal.
This style reduces interference from wind noise and is easily used
with a telephone.
In-the-Canal (ITC) hearing aids are
custom made to fit your ear canal. They are small, offering good
concealment and will require dexterity to insert and operate. These
hearing aids can be used to meet the needs for a broad range of
hearing loss.
In-the-Ear (ITE) hearing aids are the
largest of the custom made hearing instruments. With current
technology, they can be used for a very wide range of hearing
problems and are easily manipulated.
Behind-the-Ear
(BTE) hearing aids offer the most reliability and fitting
flexibility. They sit comfortably behind the ear. They are most
often used for people with severe hearing loss or in cases where
increased ventilation is required.
Hearing Aid Technology
There are essentially
three basic types of hearing aid technologies:
Analogue
Digitally Programmable
Digital |
All these
types of hearing aid circuits are available in all the different
sizes of hearing aids.
Analogue circuits are amplifiers and
simply make sound louder. They amplify speech and other sounds
equally. This makes it difficult to hear with these instruments in
the presence of background noise.
Digitally Programmable
hearing aids became available in 1987. These hearing aids have
prescriptions that are set by the audiologist using a computer.
These instruments can be fine-tuned for each individual and can be
reprogrammed if hearing needs change over time.
Digital
hearing instruments are also programmed with a computer and can be
set for a variety of listening situations. Sound goes into the
microphone of the digital hearing aid and is then changed into a
series of numbers that are analyzed and then modified using complex
mathematical formulas. Circuitry then adjusts the sound according to
your hearing needs. These hearing instruments provide the most clear
and clean sounding signal available, with much of the background
noise completely reduced. Digital hearing aids are fully automatic,
adjusting the level of amplification so that volume controls are no
longer necessary.
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