Types of Hearing Aids
The right one for you
BTE
We are all familiar with the traditional 'behind the ear' (BTE) hearing aids, they have been around now for over 30 years. The reason these aids are the most familiar is due to the NHS providing them free of charge since the early 1970's.
Although looked on as old fashioned, they have been developed over the years and many models available privately contain the latest advanced digital processors, they are especially useful for severe hearing losses.
ITE
'In the ear' (ITE) hearing aids come in many shapes and sizes, as you can see below.
The size of the aid depends on the hearing loss, the wearer's cosmetic requirements, lifestyle and level of sophistication within the aid.
Micro BTE
The latest development in hearing aid technology is the micro BTE and open ear fittings. In the last 2 years all the leading manufacturers have developed their own models. This type of hearing aid has many advantages over the traditional models.
Open fittings eliminate the 'closed' feeling experienced with ITE aids, your own voice sounds more natural and the fit is more comfortable. Many of the aids have directional microphones for unrivalled understanding of speech in noise. Cosmetically they are often less conspicuous than the smallest ITE models